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Rootkit Infection Requires Windows Reinstall
CWmike writes "Microsoft is telling Windows users that they'll have to reinstall the OS if they get infected with a new rootkit. A new variant of a Trojan Microsoft calls Popureb digs so deeply into the system that the only way to eradicate it is to return Windows to its out-of-the-box configuration, Chun Feng, an engineer with the Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC), said last week on the group's blog. 'If your system does get infected with Trojan:Win32/Popureb.E, we advise you to fix the MBR and then use a recovery CD to restore your system to a pre-infected state,' said Feng. A recovery disc returns Windows to its factory settings."
To continue your flood analogy, you have three options:
1. Build out of so ething floodproof, like concrete. The *entire* house. When a flood happens, no big deal... but making changes to the house would be a big problem. This is the ChromeOS or DeepFreeze aproach: Read-only filesystem and checksums.
2. Build dams, canals and build a few feet into the air. This works for small floods, but if you get something new, it might still wipe you out. This is the Linux aproach: Try to secure things, deal with the few issues as they come up.
3. Build cheaply, and rebuild after each flood. This is the Windows re-image approach: Just assume it's going to get hit, and have a plan to rebuild afterwards.
Just my 2c.