Windows Update Still Standing Despite Blaster

The Register ^ | 08/08/03 | John Leyden

[Salo]

Windows Update still standing despite Blaster By John Leyden Posted: 18/08/2003 at 10:42 GMT

The Blaster worm failed to knock Microsoft's Web site over this weekend, with an attack programmed to swamp Windows Update with useless traffic missing the mark.

Unknown coders programmed Blaster to attack Windows Update's windowsupdate.com site via a referring address, which Microsoft has since pulled. In the event, the attack, which was timed to begin on 16 August, was easily sidestepped. The normal referring address of Windows Update is windowsupdate.microsoft.com. This site itself redirects to another site.

The more substantive problem remains, however. The worm is still spreading, so there's no room for complacency.

Secondary risks are rearing their ugly head with virus writers trying to capitalise on the publicity generated by Blaster to fool people into installing Trojan code that pose as Blaster patches.

Users should be reminded that Microsoft NEVER sends out software updates by email precisely because of this kind of attack.

Meanwhile Netcraft reports that on Friday Microsoft changed its DNS so that requests for www.microsoft.com no longer resolve to machines on Microsoft’s own network, but instead are handled by the Akamai caching system, which runs Linux. ®

[Salo]

Does Micosoft owe SCO some cash for using linux now? ;-)

[Salo]

Pinging Doctor Penguin.

[jammer]

Ummm. I thought MS did away with windowsupdate.com and changed the URL. Try it and see what error message YOU get.

[jammer]

Ooops, I didn't see where the writer said that. My question: if they changed the address, what is the point of the article?

[BlackbirdSST]

Ummm. I thought MS did away with windowsupdate.com and changed the URL. Try it and see what error message YOU get.

They did, it wouldn't resolve Friday morning when I checked it. To my knowledge, it has been windowsupdate.microsoft.com for some time now. This was much to do about nothing! Blackbird.

[rdb3]

The Penguin Ping.

Wanna be Penguified? Just holla!

Click and find out!

Got root?

[William McKinley]

It looks to me like the article got a few of the facts wrong.

The URL Blaster was set to bombard was windowsupdate.com. This address used to redirect to windowsupdate.microsoft.com. Microsoft just waxed the DNS (domain name services) entry for windowsupdate.com and thereby foiled blaster.