Windows Not Today

Hello Protocols, Packets, and Programs,

Microsoft released Windows NT 30 years ago on July 27, unleashing a system whose default configuration and password storage would haunt networks for decades.

It required 12MB of RAM and 90MB of free disk space. Today’s Alpine Linux requires about 8MB of RAM and 130MB of disk space – although containers probably have larger hardening guides than NT ever did.

But what did NT really stand for?

Number Ten?

New Technology?

Negligible Trust?

Nothing Tangible?

Or, perhaps for the sysadmins who had to deal with NT security, it was always Not Today, Satan, Not Today.

Read more about the tragic history of Windows password security at “Selecting Secure Passwords” and “Frequently Asked Questions About Passwords”.


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