With Windows 8, it seems that misinformation is the name of the game. Whether it is the media or Microsoft to blame probably depends on how you look at it.
Microsoft could certainly do a better job at making sure we are clear on what to expect from Windows 8 and Windows RT. The media’s push of articles that don’t accurately reflect the true state of Windows 8 or RT don’t help the situation any either.
As an example, the first article to inaccurately paint the picture regarding Windows had to do with Windows RT, as business magazine, Inc.com.
This piece had to do with how the Surface RT was a bad choice for businesses, mainly because it was open to the many pieces of malware and viruses found in Windows. What was wrong with this article? Nothing, other than that fact that it was flat wrong. Windows RT won’t work with older malware and viruses, because those viruses require x86 code to infect the PC. So the whole point made by that piece was moot.
Now comes USA Today with an article of their own, one that is also somewhat misinformed. The idea of the USA Today piece is that Windows system admistrators should avoid bot hWindows 8 and Windows RT because it opens them up to new malware that could be passed through Windows 8 Store apps.
The article is built on the assumption that smartphone apps are easy to infect with viruses and slip through ‘secured marketplaces’. The basis of this idea is that it has happened with Google’s Android in the past, and still occuring for Android users.
While the base argument isn’t totally false, it is ignoring some facts here. First, 99% of the Android malware woes that people complain about have occured thanks to 3rd party app stores, not Google’s Play store. With Windows 8 and Windows RT, there are no 3rd party app stores.
You simply have Microsoft’s very secure Windows Store. Microsoft is very good at scanning these apps, and as long as Windows 8 and Windows RT users don’t hack their set-up to run unofficial Windows 8 apps, there is NO ISSUE with mobile apps in general.
At least some of the information and arguments in the USA Today article at least have limited points, unlike that published earlier by Inc.com.
Still, these kinds of articles scare away enterprise and everyday consumers because it instills the idea that Windows 8 and Windows RT are somehow a security threat. The truth is that Windows RT and Windows 8 have went to great measures to ensure they are the most secure version of Windows to date.
Bottom-line, read around multiple sites. Open your open to both positive and negative articles about Windows 8. After doing so, draw your own conclusions for your use and the use of your organization.
Have you or your business made the switch to Windows 8 or RT devices yet? If so, what do you think of the idea of using Windows 8/RT in a business environment?
