WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently

Precisely nineteen months ago, Bill Gates sent out a memo to employees (and the press) announcing that security was Microsoft's number-one priority. Today, about a hundred readers have submitted the news that Microsoft.com went down last night. And now, the company has "extinguished" WindowsUpdate.com (future updates will come from a different domain). All this because of some Microsoft worm that triggers at midnight. Related news: Windows Update says you're protected, but maybe you're not; WU.com briefly ran Linux, heh; worm variant with clever "anatomical term."

Comments

Next Week..

[msblaster.exe]

Don't worry next week there will be another memo with the URL for the new update

Re:Next Week..

[Ledskof]

secured permanently? So they unplugged it from the network to finally get that C2 security level eh?

Re:Next Week..

[cravey]

I wonder why they didn't just point DNS for the website to 127.0.0.1.

Let the infected servers work it out amongst themselves. :)

In other news...

[GillBates0]

Computing is more important than any other part of our work. If we don't do this, people simply won't be willing--or able--to take advantage of all the other great work we do.

Breathing is more important to us than any other activity. If we don't breathe, we will die.

Ahhh, the perfect security

[Froze]

1) Disconnect box from all external cords
2) Encase box in several hundred cubic meters of concrete
3) Surround concrete with meter thick lead lining
4) Bury under radioactive waste in a geologically stable region
5) Saturate the surface with nuclear land mines
6) Curse MicrSoft, becase you still get hacked!

Re:Ahhh, the perfect security

[stwrtpj]

1) Disconnect box from all external cords
2) Encase box in several hundred cubic meters of concrete
3) Surround concrete with meter thick lead lining
4) Bury under radioactive waste in a geologically stable region
5) Saturate the surface with nuclear land mines
6) Curse MicrSoft, becase you still get hacked!

7) Profit?

Re:Security is #1.... again?

[micromoog]

Wasn't this the subject of a famous memo about a year and a half ago, when they were spending 10 months doing nothing bug security?

Oh, you mean this?

Precisely nineteen months ago, Bill Gates sent out a memo to employees (and the press) announcing that security was Microsoft's number-one priority.

It's the first line of the fucking story! For cryin' out loud, we know you're not going to read the fucking article, we don't really expect you to even read the whole story, but can't you at least fucking read the first line?!?!

Saved?

[PovRayMan]

Last night I finally went to go upgrade from Windows Media Player 6.4 to 9.0 so I can test out those high definition WMP9 videos for once. I couldn't figure out why microsoft.com wasn't loading but now I find out it was because of a DOS attack.

Now I'm thinking, was this intervention from a higher force to protect me from installing WMP9 or just odd luck?

Re:Gates Memo repost - slowing...

[otisaardvark]

Today, in the developed world, we do not worry about electricity and water services being available.

You have to give it to the guy; his timing is impeccable...

What took out Microsoft.com last night???

[TopShelf]

At least we know where the DDOS attack didn't come from: New York, Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto, et al.

cool title

[pyros]

Marc Maiffret, chief hacking officer for security software maker eEye Digital Security

That is the coolest job title. I'd have to negotiate a gold plated machette as a hiring bonus for a title like that. And anyone working for me would be officially titled a Hacking Minion!

Ironic?

[Bandman]

Today, in the developed world, we do not worry about electricity and water services being available.

Maybe he didn't get the memo?

Microsoft != reliable

[Thud457]

"Actually, there are rumors that safety systems that would have prevented such widespread failure were running on Windows and were down because of blaster. "

If those rumors are true, then the worm didn't cause the power failures, it just disabled the systems that would have prevented them. That this happened at around the same time is just a coincidence, - or maybe minor power failures happen frequently and were just prevented from spreading?

Who the fuck runs mission-critical systems on Windows?!! HOMER SIMPSON?!!!

Re:Microsoft != reliable

[pyros]

yes ... yes ... yes ... .. y ... <hmmmm> y ...

<stupid filler to avoid the fscking retarded lameness filter>

Re:Microsoft != reliable

[pyros]

redundant!? Guess I should have quoted the bit I was responding to (who runs windows on ...? HOMER SIMPSON ) The yes over and over being a reference to him running his mission critical system, where he just typed yes all day, until he figured out he could just hit y, until he set up that toy bird which leans forward and stands back up over and over. Man, I can't believe I had to explain that one.

Re:What did they do?

[golgotha007]

why would i want to help allievate the situation? hell, i get to have all my computers attack microsoft for free! and legally! wohoo! sick 'em!

Military Definitions of "Secured"...

[Speare]

Reminds me of the old military joke,

• The reason the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines bicker amongst themselves is that they don't speak the same language. For instance, take the simple phrase
• "secure the building".

  The Army will post guards around the place.

  The Navy will turn out the lights and lock the doors.

  The Marines will kill everybody inside and set up a headquarters

  The Air Force will take out a 5 year lease with an option to buy.

Disk Operating System

[Tired_Blood]

While Windows was getting all the attention from their common creator Microsoft, DOS has secretly been waiting for its opportunity to strike at both.

From the infoworld article:
The company is cooperating with federal law enforcement officials to investigate the attack, which is the second successful DOS attack against Microsoft.com this month.

Two successful DOS attacks this month. And what a sense of irony: revolt against the creator by manipulating "the favorite" to do its bidding.

What's so hard about using a lower-case 'o'?

Re:Power outage related to Microsoft

[Cromac]

I personally wish the US would update it's power infrastructure, and I'd be willing to pay for it.

Just send that personal check for several hundred billion dollars to:

U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20585

Re:Power outage related to Microsoft

[FreeUser]

Take it from someone who's soon-to-be-parents-in-law are up to their necks in the power + safety industry ... no, they don't run Windows.

Control frontends and GUIs may run Windows. They may also run Java apps. The back-end is ALL Unix (and specifically NOT Linux), because there are very few OS vendors who will certify and indemnify the use of their OS in that kind of safety critical environment.

Ah.

SCO UNIX.

No wonder.

(*duck*)

Re:Power outage related to Microsoft

[harley_frog]

I personally wish the US would update it's power infrastructure, and I'd be willing to pay for it. Retire old, inefficient nuclear plants and build new, more powerful, safer ones. Add in more redundancy into the network, more real-time failovers. They are modernizing it, don't get me wrong, but they aren't going at near the pace I'd like to see.

Interestingly enough, Bush says that the nation's power grid needs to be updated, but doesn't know how or how much it will cost. Hmmm, I wonder if these means replacing the hampsters with ferrets?

Re:Power outage related to Microsoft

[Wingnut64]

"Is there any way this 'DoS' can be stopped?"
"Impossibly, there's too many compromised machines. You'd need to turn off every computer on the East Coast..."