Slashdot Mirror
Win32 Blaster Worm is on the Rise
EvilNight writes "You know you've got it when a 60 second shutdown timer pops up on your screen. The virus uses the RPC vulnerability. It looks like it's reaching critical mass today. Luckily, it's an easy one to stop: Download this security update. Once you've installed that patch, go here and
download the removal tool." Update: 08/12 19:19 GMT by M : Security bulletin URL corrected.
Here it shows the hole and teh worme.
You know, last month Microsoft had two holes revealed, while Linux had nine. But that won't get reported here, because facts aren't allowed!
At any rate, it sounds like you're making excuses for stupid people. Stupid people are not Microsoft's fault, either. And Microsoft already regression tests its patches for you.
Look, it was a simple 1.2MB patch that was out last month, and even got a Slashdot article, it was such a big deal. Those who didn't apply it know where the blame lies.
"Sufferin' succotash."
Or better yet, have it point to the executable so we can install it. I mean, come on, this is Slashdot. We're handed, on a silver platter, a program that will launch a DOS on Microsoft, our evil nemisis, and we're trying to UNinstall it? I'm ashamed of all of you.
Most firewall software is annoying as hell. The first step in diagnosing network problems on other machines is to tell the user to disable zonealarm or whatever piece of shit he/she is using for a firewall. You'd be surprised how often that is the source of trouble.
Firewalls are useful for servers. For workstations they generally suck and have poor usability. I haven't found one yet that is up to my standards and I've tried all major brands.
In anycase, firewalls are essential for idiots because they don't know what they are running and probably have dozens of spyware and legitimate but useless tools running. If on the other hand you do know what you are running, you also know what ports are open (namely exactly the ones that you want open). In the case of MS there are some ports you cannot close. However, you can disable most of the rpc services that use it (don't share files/printers on a external connection, kill the messenger service).
For people who know their configuration, not running a firewall is a minor, calculated risk. So what if people can ping me? So what if they can see I'm not running several familiar services? So what if they can connect to port 135? So what if Bill Gates wants send information to some vague ip addresses every few minutes?
Jilles
Ivan is actually a Cyrillic dirivitive on the name John. I bet you totally feel like an asshole now!
OMG
THEY ARE BOTH I**N
MY SLASHDOT ENASBLED UNIX PROWESS MEANS THEYRE SIMILAR
When
NOT AT ALL
YOU FAIL IT!
Anybody who as posted here saying that they got hit (personal boxes or boxes under their direct control) is a MORON. I exclude those of you who work at places that got hit but aren't responsible for patches. But the rest of you, SHEESH. What a bunch of f'ing idiots. Get off the Internet: you are making it unpleasant for the rest of us.
sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
...and you should be bitch-slapped for murdering the English language.
So you really think disconnecting all the comps from the network, downloading and burning the patches then physically going round all the computers with a CD (tip: many corporate pcs dont have a cd drive) is easier then typing (or I suppose scripting!) shutdown /a.
retard.
Bush and Blair ate my sig!
Losers, it is like saying, When I stick a bowling ball up my a$$ it hurts.
Dont use Microshit and it wont hurt
so sweden is gay...
tell me something new
WindowsUpdate is very unlikely to go down. MS not only has a lot of money to spend on servers, but they have warning of the problem too. They can even induce test cases.
As to deleting everything and starting over, I could easily do that if all I did was screw around with my computer. I, like many others use my computer as a tool, not a tool to fiddle with Unix. I can't just start over without losing a lot of time (and time is money).
Finally, installing BSD or Linux is no better a solution than just reinstalling Windows. Linux has as many security problems as MS, it's just that for some reason people don't usually write worms for them.
Perhaps the reason is that the scarcity of Linux machines makes it nearly impossible to create a sustaining worm by just infecting them. Same thing that saves Apple's ass.
The worm definitely is on the rise, on another board I am on the problems started to trickle in 3 days ago, and now fully 1/3rd of the board is consumed with people talking about getting hit by the worm.
It's not a hack nitwit.
i'm typing this under xp that gets several hard lock ups a day, usually while playing EA games (whereas halflife runs flawlessly while ripping internet streams into mp3 in the background)
so please, stfu anonymous halfwit, (intelligent) people hate M$ because M$ can be mediocre and get away with it as they're the monopoly that controls nearly all the desktops on earth including the ones at the DoJ and sitting on foreign desktops with their backdoors wide open for spook snooping...
Thats it! I'm going to do some heavy research into the unix OS, find a number of exploits, and then write a virus that only affects you unix/linux/mac people who constantly bash and rip apart microsoft about these things that are almost completely beyond microsoft's control. My worm will only affect people with custom kernels, java monkeys, and people who have Microshaft, M$, Micro$oft in any of the files on their computer, or if their slashdot nickname is b-baggins
Microsoft has done many many good things, and continues to do more good things. One of microsoft's greatest talents is technology support and listening to customers. They fix things, and they fix them fast.
And I'd just like to add that almost 2 months ago I began developing on Mac OS X 10.2 at work, and I must say that this OS's GUI is worse than win95. The whole thing is so god damn inefficient. The worst part is apple made the GUI rely heavily on the mouse but then gives users a one button mouse. Its either use the menus or memorize all the shortcuts. ugh