IRT urges students to patch Windows machines
Microsoft security flaws trouble PC users
Joshua Karstendick
Issue date: 2/20/04 Section: News
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Another jeopardous flaw has been discovered in Microsoft's popular operating systems, Windows 2000, 2003, NT 4.0 and XP.
Microsoft has classified this flaw as "critical," its highest severity rating. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could take complete control over a computer remotely.
"Security experts expect the first worms or viruses to begin exploiting this vulnerability very soon, perhaps as early as this week. It is therefore imperative that Windows users patch their computers at once," the Office of Information Resources and Technology said in an e-mail to the University community Feb. 12.
IRT strongly urges students to install the critical update and also run anti-virus software, in order to protect their computers.
Recently, several issues of security have arisen with regards to Microsoft's Windows. Microsoft released a security bulletin and patch Feb. 18 addressing a "critical" vulnerability in Internet Explorer, an integral component of Windows and the dominant Web browser.
The MyDoom e-mail worm, released Jan. 26, exploited yet another vulnerability in Windows.
Microsoft has successfully prevented a distributed-denial-of-service attack from computers infected with the original variant, but SCO has not been so lucky. SCO's Web site, http://www.sco.com, which has been targeted by a variant of MyDoom, was still unavailable at 5 p.m. Feb. 19.
Furthermore, it has recently been discovered that incomplete portions of Microsoft's proprietary Windows source code might have been illegally leaked over the Internet.
Given this source code, cyber criminals might begin to exploit vulnerabilities in Windows that were previously unknown.
Microsoft has classified this flaw as "critical," its highest severity rating. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could take complete control over a computer remotely.
"Security experts expect the first worms or viruses to begin exploiting this vulnerability very soon, perhaps as early as this week. It is therefore imperative that Windows users patch their computers at once," the Office of Information Resources and Technology said in an e-mail to the University community Feb. 12.
IRT strongly urges students to install the critical update and also run anti-virus software, in order to protect their computers.
Recently, several issues of security have arisen with regards to Microsoft's Windows. Microsoft released a security bulletin and patch Feb. 18 addressing a "critical" vulnerability in Internet Explorer, an integral component of Windows and the dominant Web browser.
The MyDoom e-mail worm, released Jan. 26, exploited yet another vulnerability in Windows.
Microsoft has successfully prevented a distributed-denial-of-service attack from computers infected with the original variant, but SCO has not been so lucky. SCO's Web site, http://www.sco.com, which has been targeted by a variant of MyDoom, was still unavailable at 5 p.m. Feb. 19.
Furthermore, it has recently been discovered that incomplete portions of Microsoft's proprietary Windows source code might have been illegally leaked over the Internet.
Given this source code, cyber criminals might begin to exploit vulnerabilities in Windows that were previously unknown.
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