Forwarded From: Jim Laverty <laverty@matrix-one.com> New York, (Reuters) - In 1991, when a competitor threatened to break Microsoft Corp.'s lock on desktop software, Microsoft engineers discussed an unusual counterattack: a software bug to be hidden inside an early version of Microsoft Windows, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. In a Sept. 30, 1991, message about the plan that referred to members of his team in the shorthand of electronic mail, David Cole, head of Windows development, told another executive that "aaronr had some pretty wild ideas after three or so beers -- earleh has some too." If the bug detected a rival's program, he further wrote, it would "put competitors on a treadmill" and "should surely crash at some point shortly later." Cole also warned that the existence of the bug had to be kept secret, the Journal reported. http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2555754435-3c9 -o- Subscribe: mail majordomoat_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: Repent Security Incorporated [www.repsec.com]
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