Microsoft's assurances that Windows XP will not make it easier for hackers to launch damaging Denial of Service (DoS) attacks across the Internet have been dismissed by the security expert who first alerted the company to the issue.
The US software giant released a statement in which it said Steve Gibson, president of Gibson Research Group, was incorrect to claim that the implementation of "raw sockets" in its Windows XP operating system was a serious mistake.
According to Microsoft it will not be possible for a hacker to run malicious software such as Trojan horses on a machine running Windows XP, thanks to the company's "war on hostile code."
This means that an XP machine could not take part in a DoS attack, according to Microsoft.
Responding to Microsoft's denial, Gibson, who in 30 years of programming has written many security programs, has now accused Microsoft of lying when it claims that "previous versions of Windows" also supported raw sockets.
"The release of Windows XP, as currently planned, into the mass consumer market represents a crucial mistake and, given that Microsoft is fully aware of this, a shocking example of corporate hubris," Gibson said.
