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Worm vs. Worm Battle Slows Networks

Posted by timothy on from the buncha-worms-are-involved dept.

joel_archer writes "According this article at the DrudgeReport, a worm, apparently designed to patch MSBlaster infected Win2K and XP machines, brings various Canadian networks to a crawl. Hardest hit was the 411 system, Air Canada, and Ontario hydro electric operations. Apparently this is causing more problems than MSBlaster itself."

27 of 559 comments (clear)

  1. hmm, i wonder. by Pandora's+Vox · · Score: 5, Funny

    MS exploit virus comes out.

    mysterious patching virus starts making the rounds. massive consequences.

    we should be doing this more often, kids.

    -Leigh

    1. Re: hmm, i wonder. by Black+Parrot · · Score: 5, Funny


      > MS exploit virus comes out. mysterious patching virus starts making the rounds. massive consequences. we should be doing this more often, kids.

      Yeah, I'm working on a worm to kill off the worm that was supposed to fix Blaster, but I've been busy and haven't gotten it out yet. Look for it in your mailboxes tomorrow!

      --
      Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    2. Re: hmm, i wonder. by gfody · · Score: 4, Funny

      I'd better get started on my worm to kill your worm! er shit, semantec already has a definition file for anti.anti.anti.blaster.win32?!

      --

      bite my glorious golden ass.
    3. Re: hmm, i wonder. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I believe the correct name for that would be the

      W32.Blaster.Buster.Buster.Buster.Worm

    4. Re:hmm, i wonder. by Mr.+Bad+Example · · Score: 4, Funny

      MS exploit virus comes out.
      mysterious patching virus starts making the rounds. massive consequences.
      we should be doing this more often, kids.

      That's the worst haiku I've ever seen.

  2. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  3. Re: Imminent death of the net predicted by Black+Parrot · · Score: 3, Funny


    > Every time I hear about a huge new worm, I wonder how long until someone finds some huge exploit or something that will wreak major havoc over the entire 'net. What would the effects of that be, in the end? Seems like that would have a major effect on world economy.

    Yeah, people would start getting their work done out of sheer boredom.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  4. Re:My connection sucks by Black+Parrot · · Score: 3, Funny


    > My cable went out for about 2-3 hours earlier, and even before it went out everythings been slow, and still is.

    Yes, due to the state of emergency we'll all have to shoot for "second post" until this dies down, since the internet isn't physically fast enough to let anyone get a "first post" in right now.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  5. Re: How lame is their IT department? by Black+Parrot · · Score: 5, Funny

    "The system is under attack from the virus, and we've had more problems with this particular virus this afternoon than any other previous virus in Ontario," said Terry Young, a spokesman for the Ontario's Independent Electricity Market Operator.
    > So basically they haven't yet learned how to block port 135 on their networks? And they refer to a worm as a virus. I'm glad I don't live in Ontario right about now.

    One suspects that the power companies in that corner of the world are oh-so-glad to have any random excuse right now.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  6. Oh FFS! by marcushnk · · Score: 3, Funny

    If they just made sure their bloody networks were patched and firewalled correctly they wouldn't have this issue..

    Frankly I think that anyone that complains about this needs a good hard leson in cause and effect.. oh hang on.. looks like they're getting that now!
    Lets hope they're bright enough to recognize it.

    --
    "Consider how lucky you are that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn't been good to you so far
  7. Re:Welcome to the WORM wars by Black+Parrot · · Score: 3, Funny


    > Send a worm to kill a worm!

    Two worms enter, one worm leaves!

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  8. Worm vs. Worm - It's a Ripoff! by teamhasnoi · · Score: 5, Funny
    I got this on pay-per-view last week and it was totally fixed. MS Blaster dove off the top rope onto MS Patcher, and then kept booting him, and rebooting him. MS Patcher was like, "Huh? What?" until his manager got in the ring and slapped him.

    You couldn't tell, but I used the freeze-frame on my Beowulf cluster of Tivos and saw that there was hidden IP in Blasters hand.

    I was so pissed, I called Fight Update to complain, but the lines were all busy.

    Never again will I pay $179 for a pay-per-view wrestling match...although the upcoming free-for-all cage match between SCO, Linux, IBM, Novell, Red Hat and FSF sounds pretty interesting. I bet that PanIP will make an appearance and beat the hell out of somebody too.

    Someone always gets in the cage at the last minute.

  9. Windows servers by danielsfca2 · · Score: 4, Funny

    At Boston/Logan airport last Friday, I saw on a Delta departures/arrivals screen this Windows error dialog in front of the grid of flights:

    "At least one service failed to start..."

    I took a photo of it. I thought:

    - "I'm glad I don't run Windows." - "I'm glad I'm not flying Delta today."

    1. Re:Windows servers by CurlyG · · Score: 5, Funny

      Holy shit, your gas station is running Windows and is connected to the internet??

      Please, please tell me that the pumps can't actually be controlled from the PC running the station...

      --
      You know they call 'em fingers but I've never seen 'em fing. Oh, there they go.
    2. Re:Windows servers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Ummm... there's this thing called a handle... it controls the 'gas' coming out of the nozzle... ummmm... it's like, a handle. You know?

    3. Re:Windows servers by Spoing · · Score: 4, Funny
      Windows is fine for games and light use, but who why would you want to do anything serious with it? Sooner or later, these companies will wise up and move to *nix.

      [comic book guy voice] You would think that, but no, no they won't. [puts hands to face and continues to cry]

      On a dead serious note, I have personally wasted 2 hours yesterday on this new strain of the worm (it took down a customer's network that one sub-project needs -- they are SOL). Add 10 hours for the original one and it's a big block of my time over the past week...so much so, that my contract has been extended at this site to deal with the backlog multiple departments are suffering with.

      Here's the kicker; all *my* computers run Linux...yet, the network uses Windows, so the Linux systems become marginally useful even though they pur along fine by themselves.

      Even though I'm not in the IS department on this project, I do get drafted because I know something...and the IS folks are not the cream of the crop here. Some are good, though they all do too much of the 'stand of one leg...no, server is still sick...stand on other leg...nope, is it time? OK, hit the lights and get the chicken while I light the candles.'.

      You can bet that I've been pointing out that I have not had a single virus on my machines, though honestly that is a small value since most of what I do requires the damn network!

      --
      A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
    4. Re:Windows servers by hdparm · · Score: 3, Funny
      Which leads me to wonder, as an earlier post did: why on earth is this system sitting connected to the Internet?

      So they can act swiftly and download patches :o)

    5. Re:Windows servers by Quaryon · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's times like these that we need a "+1, Worrying" moderation level..

      Q.

    6. Re:Windows servers by Mr.+Bad+Example · · Score: 5, Funny

      Holy shit, your gas station is running Windows and is connected to the internet??

      "Regular, midgrade, premium...CowboyNeal? The hell?"

  10. Is anyone else getting the mental image by mcc · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...of two huge monsters battling over Tokyo and knocking over buildings in their fight while the puny sysadmins in their tanks futilely try to hurl patches, and one of the huge monsters is Good and one of the huge monsters is Bad but no matter becuase even if the good one wins, Tokyo is getting stomped flat either way?

    Okay, I think I've just proven that I've been awake too long. Goodnight..

    --
    Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
  11. Re:But, but, but.. by RoLi · · Score: 2, Funny
    The funny thing is that many admins will react by reinstalling Windows from scratch.

    D'oh, d'oh indeed.

  12. Re:my thoughts by jwang · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...someone could annihilate every Windows machine connected to the internet in the entire world with one stroke.

    Now that you mention it, that doesn't sound so bad...

  13. Windows on airport displays by Anarchofascist · · Score: 5, Funny

    My wife and I were going through Dublin airport when I noticed that a number of the airport schedule display screens were going through a reboot sequence. I showed it to her : "Hey, looks like that one crashed."

    She had to point out that a more alarming interpretation of the word "crashed" may have been made by some of the other people in the arrivals area.

    --
    Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more, Or close the wall up with our American dead!
    1. Re:Windows on airport displays by operagost · · Score: 2, Funny
      Good thing it wasn't a Mac- then you might have said it "bombed".

      "So, the last thing I remember is a 250 lb. guard putting his knees into my back..."

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
  14. Worm by Eviscero · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm going to develop a worm, that mutates into two different worms...one will be the democrats, the other will be the republicans.

    On the first Tuesday in November, one of them will activate and fill your computer, television and radio with loads of bullshit.

    --


    It's not what you know; It's what you can find out.
  15. Re:Windows Emergency Services by Pig+Hogger · · Score: 3, Funny
    (everything from tunnel fires to radiation leeks)
    Note to self: carry dosimeter to my mother's when I'll go there in case she serves me her cream of leek soup.
  16. Re:It's not THAT good. by Nunar · · Score: 2, Funny

    So wait, I don't get it...

    Which is worse, exploiting Windoze? Or fixing it?

    "I could do a lot of stuff, if I had some money!" -Homer Simpson