Microsoft's Urgent Security Update

Okay, I'm updating my PC (XP) right now.

If for some reason Microsoft destroys my system with this update (yes, I
am quite petrified it will) how can I revert back to where I was JUST before
the update?

Remember, I am a techno dunce so simple English please.

Just go to the urgent out of band link which will show you the bulletin Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-067 - Critical: Vulnerability in Server Service Could Allow Remote Code Execution (958644)

Then choose which version of Windows you have and download the patch.

It will create a restore point when it is doing the process.

So - I just did it to my desktop and it was simple and nothing blew up. It is just clicking links and nothing technical.

Thanks, just updated my Wynndoozle just fine other than for the sparks flying out the back and setting off the sprinklers in my condo.Hope the guy downstairs doesn't mind his drywall ceiling no longer being dry.
It's NOT supposed to do THAT is it?

Boy I hate when it does that.

You are welcome!

Is this a coy way to bump this up to the top or what?

It's important - don't shine it.

Now that the word is out the hacker-demons will jump on it - don't be a sitting duck!

Yep, it's a critical update, so unless you explicitly disabled Windows Update, it downloaded it for you today. Both my desktop and laptop, running Vista Ultimate and Vista Home Premium, installed the update and asked me to reboot a few hours ago.

Good thing to know this is one bug MS found themselves, not something they found someone exploiting or reported by an outside security company.

Maybe NOW would be the perfect time for a bake sale or sing a song..


Enjoy!

Grant

Mac OS X and Linux have just as serious security flaws.

There's no such thing as bug free software once the code reaches a certain complexity. And it's mathematicallly provable there's no way to prove such software is bug-free, as any program that proved another bug-free would first have to solve the uncomputable halting problem.

Microsoft Bug: Patch Now, Patch Fast


By Stefanie Hoffman, ChannelWeb
3:11 PM EDT Fri. Oct. 24, 2008

If there's anything that Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT) is telling its users, it's to patch their systems, and fast.

After Microsoft released an out-of-band update for a critical Windows vulnerability that allows hackers to execute a malicious Internet worm on users' computers, security experts are strongly recommending that users apply patches immediately.

Specifically, the remote execution vulnerability allows hackers to write worm code--malicious self-propagating code that doesn't require any user interaction--by crafting a special RPC request. A successful attack would enable the hacker to take complete control of a victim's computer, and ultimately steal sensitive financial information from their victims. In addition, once a user's system is affected, the malicious code has the ability to rapidly self-propagate and infect every other unpatched computer in the network.

The flaw, which affects almost every Windows operating system, is rated "critical" for many of the earlier versions of Windows, including Windows 2000, XP and Server 2003. However, the bug was given the less severe rating of "important" for Windows Vista and Server 2008.

Security experts maintain that the exploit code has actively been used in the wild, with exploits stemming from hackers who have already reverse-engineered the patch.

"The frightening thing to me is just how quickly the bad guys were able to turn out an exploit," said Paul Henry, security and forensic analyst at Lumension Security, Scottsdale, Ariz. "I really think that speaks volumes about the necessity to deploy your patches very quickly, and very widely."

Henry said that researchers detected malicious code designed to grab user credentials before encrypting them and sending them to a New Jersey-based server. Henry said that the malware has so far affected at least 3,600 users, but said that the number would likely increase significantly over the weekend.

Meanwhile, an advisory by San Diego-based Websense also alerted users that hackers have unleashed attacks by installing the Trojan Gimmiv. The alert noted that only 25 percent to 36 percent of antivirus vendors could detect the malicious exploit code.

In a blog posting, Microsoft security researcher Michael Howard contended that that the bug, which stems from a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability, was difficult to detect due to its complexity.

"I'll be blunt; our fuzz tests did not catch this and they should have. So we are going back to our fuzzing algorithms and libraries to update them accordingly," he wrote. "In my opinion, hand reviewing this code and successfully finding this bug would require a great deal of skill and luck."

Howard said that in the last year he had noticed that many Windows bugs, like the recently detected Internet worm, fell into the category of "onesey-twosies"--that is, complex derivatives of existing vulnerabilities.
"First the good news; I think perhaps we have removed a good number of the low-hanging security vulnerabilities from many of our products, especially the newer code," he said. "The bad news is we'll continue to have vulnerabilities because you cannot train a developer to hunt for unique bugs, and creating tools to find such bugs is also hard to do without incurring an incredible volume of false positives."

Henry added that the severity of the flaw, emphasized by the out-of-band patch, underscores the need for enterprises to consider automated patch management technologies. "The big gotcha is, unless you have automated methodology enterprise wide, you could be caught up in this because you're not going to have enough time to patch your systems."

Microsoft Bug: Patch Now, Patch Fast - Security - IT Channel News by CRN and VARBusiness

Hi David,

Your links just go to conference info.
I'm interested in reading why Mac is more vulnerable.
Can you please share any links concerning this discussion?