The elephant in the room

Good story in the New York Times today about how the federal anti-spam law passed last year has actually increased the amount of spam. However, the story has a major flaw -- it doesn't mention Microsoft's role in leaving security holes in Windows that virus writers exploit to turn personal computers into zombie networks that send out spam, thus keeping the spammer's operating costs low.

The only thing the story does mention about Microsoft is that they are suing a prolific spammer. Ok, so let me get this straight: when Microsoft is being sued, it argues that the government shouldn't get in the way of "innovation." But when Microsoft sues, it wants the government to solve a problem created by their shoddy software. To put it politely, that's chutzpah.

How is it possible that a reporter for the greatest newspaper in the country could miss that much of a story?