Users react to SQL Slammer

"I wish what was currently out there was more secure, but Microsoft did put the patch out. Microsoft could have done a better job getting the word out, but it does come down to user accountability."

Mary Stadelbacher
President
Pionus Creations

"It's on the user's side. If Microsoft didn't do anything, I'd put the blame on them, but this one is the users' fault."

Rich Johnson
Network Specialist
Food and Drug Administration

"I tend to blame Microsoft. In general, they don't focus on security enough with all their products."

Craig Horlacher
Network Systems Analyst
Penn State College of Medicine

"I'd say Microsoft's fault. There's a patch to apply every day to make their products more secure. You don't see Unix machines exploited the same way."

John Peters
Vice President of IT
On-Site Sourcing

"All of the above. Users, hackers and Microsoft. But in this case, Microsoft, the manufacturer bears the brunt of the burden, although all should take responsibility."

Leo Pickett
President
Pickett International Enterprises

"I would say it's the users fault for not putting the patch in place. What 50% of IT departments didn't apply the patch? Microsoft put it out there, and you know there are viruses so users should take precautions."

Jill Blackenburg
Client development
RightMinds

"I'd say it's the fault of every programmer out there that doesn't write fault-tolerant code."

Lance Wulfers
Infrastructure specialist
EDS

"Ultimately, the end user is to blame. It's an awareness issue. End users should be aware of the problems and solutions available."

Michael Li
Senior Architect
Li Consulting

"I think it's the users' fault. If they were told six months ahead and didn't load the patch, then it's their fault."

Nana Osafo-Mensah
System Administrator
National Human Genome Center at Howard University

"It's the responsibility of anyone that runs and manages a server. It's their responsibility to apply the patches Microsoft puts out. Microsoft can't go out to every customer and do it for you. That's ridiculous. It's [the patch has] been out for months."

Paul Krihak
Network engineer
Virtua Health