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Lessons Learned From Blaster

Posted by timothy on from the evil-compounds-itself dept.

CowboyRobot writes "It's been nearly a year since Blaster struck, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in fixes and lost revenue. Jim Morrison of Symantec goes step-by-step in looking at how the Blaster worm got out of control so quickly, and what lessons can be learned from that event, by studying how one utility company dealt with it." The story is written as a fun, technothriller narrative; here's an snippet: "The laptops, usually out in the field, were always a hit-and-miss proposition to find on the network and deliver a patch or to have the user take the machine to a field office. That meant that on the 16th they could see a flood of traffic launched against Microsoft. The second phase of Blaster, launching a DoS (denial of service) attack against windowsupdate.com, was imminent."

7 of 312 comments (clear)

  1. Me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    I'm he gayest nigger I know

  2. "Lessons Learned From Blaster" by Harrison819 · · Score: -1, Troll

    Fat nerdy teenagers with bleached hair can not be trusted!

    --
    Fin
  3. Well... by Piranhaa · · Score: -1, Troll

    Great that this is just 2 posts away from some extremely stupid posts. People saying that viruses are unable to get installed by unpatched pc's without user intervention. Some people I tell you. Yes it is kind of offtopic, but hey, it's relevant!

    1. Re:Well... by 0racle · · Score: 0, Troll

      No the best posts will be the ones from 'experts' who will tell you not to run Windows because MS is evil and trying to destroy your computer.

      --
      "I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
  4. Re:The Linux FAQ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Linux is a fine DOS-like operating system with many uses, the number one of which is compiling the Linux kernel itself.

    Compiling the kernel is an activity that must be accomplished time and time over again, sometimes several times per day. It is recommended that the Linux kernel be recompiled at least once per day on the most critical systems. Doing otherwise would likely result in system instability.

    Since compiling the kernel is such an important activity, Linux users often benchmark and compare machines solely based on kernel compile times. Most distributions provide the source code of the kernel to the users in an effort to ease the learning curve of the unfriendly environment.

    There are many reasons to compile the Linux kernel. Here are a few:

    -Installation of new hardware such as a USB mouse
    -Application of daily security patches
    -Training towards RedHat Certified Systems Engineer certification
    -Impressing friends, mates and family
    -etc

    Please be careful when compiling your Linux kernel. You could hose your system.

  5. Re:NCC 1701-D on Blaster by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Geez, only on slashdork would shit like that get modded 5. Losers. Wil Wheaton is a fag too.

  6. Out of control? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    How did the Blaster worm got out of control so quickly?
    Stupid people still using Microsoft products... that's how.

    How do we solve this problem?
    Install Linux... that's how.