Microsoft Issues Security Warnings for Windows, Outlook And Content Management

InternetWeek.com ^

[gonewt]

Microsoft issued a critical warning about a security hole in Windows NT 4.0, Windows XP and Windows 2000 that could enable attackers to take over a vulnerable system.

The company also issued two more security warnings, about a flaw in Content Management Server 2001 rated as important, and a moderate-rated vulnerability in Outlook 2002. The company posted patches for all three flaws in the warnings, which were posted Wednesday.

The Windows flaw is in the Microsoft Locator service, which allows users to map easy-to-remember logical names of systems on a company's network, such as printer servers, to the actual network addresses. An attacker could take over by sending a malformed request to the Locator, although a firewall set to block external NetBIOS traffic will prevent attacks from the Internet.

The Content Management flaw would allow attackers to intercept data that an Internet user shares with a site created using the Microsoft software and change data shown to the user. And the Outlook flaw will stop Outlook from sending encrypted mail when users use V1 Exchange Server Security Certificates, which are not commonly used, Microsoft said. Instead, Outlook 2002 is set up to use Secure MIME (SMIME) certificates by default.

Microsoft has posted detailed security bulletins and patches for the Windows security flaw, as well as the Outlook and Content Management holes.

[gonewt]

For those unfortunate souls stuck running anything other than UNIX! ;-)

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

Yikes, thanks for that post. I just upgraded yesterday to Windows XP to...

[Paul Atreides]

Whatever you do, DO NOT have XP convert your hard drive to NTFS format. If it does, the OS cannot be uninstalled and the only way to undo the NTFS format is to have the drive reformatted.

[goodnesswins]

Hmmmm....I've been thinking of upgrading from Windows98....guess I'll wait some more......

[goodnesswins]

AND....before any of you say anything I do NOT use OUTLOOK.

[RippleFire]

BUMP

[usastandsunited]

lnyx/pine bump

[AFreeBird]

I just upgraded yesterday to Windows XP...

Upgrade??

[Doohickey]

Whatever... DoS flaw in Pine

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

Oh darnit...it turns out that my file system is *already* NTFS format as it was factory installed on the CPU that way.

Please tell me that with the $$ I spent on a complete new system [yesterday!], I can finally rest easy about my PC for a while...

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

I'll clear my thoughts up. When I said upgrade, I ment UPGRADE...as in:

After a virus infected my 'A' and then the 'C' drive on my IBM, on which the OS was Win98, not to mention the *new* 'C' drive that I even helped to install, my gracious husband decided to end my frustration himeslf by just telling me to go pick out a new computer, on which the OS is Windows XP.

I've had it less then 24 hours, so I'm still getting used to it...

;^)

[FreePaul]

MICROSOFT ISSUES BULLETIN THAT THEY HAVE FOUND AN OPERATING SYSTEM IN THEIR PREVIOUSLY RELEASED SECURITY FLAW.

[Mushinronshasan]

Is this a problem if my PC is not a server? I've only got the one computer, and don't even have a home network. The fix seems to be for network servers, and I'm not sure if I should download it. Which is better - (a) Better safe than sorry, or (b) Don't install something I don't need?

[Sir Gawain]

I actually like XP. It's better than 98/ME/2000. NT was ok too.

[unspun]

Just another reminder that it's not conservative or pro-business to get us duped into subjection to monopolies.

[Paul Atreides]

Here is the mistake I made:

I had purchased software to uninstall programs and files from my computer. It was a non-MS program. It caused some features to glitch. I got out my XP OS disk and proceeded to reinstall XP. Well, after doing so, the computer would not recognize that my modem. I reinstalled it again, and selected it to switch the hard drive to NTFS format. I later learned that it could not be reversed, and that XP could not be uninstalled after the switchover. I took my computer to the place I had it built and had them reformat the hard drive and reinstall XP only with the FAT32 drive format.

[Sir_Ed]

"Please tell me that with the $$ I spent on a complete new system [yesterday!], I can finally rest easy about my PC for a while..."

ONLY if it was a Macintosh!! (Snicker, snicker!)

Ed

[Paul Atreides]

I like XP as well. It hasn't been the horror story everyone made it out. I was using ME, which was a piece of crap.

[Sir Gawain]

Use GoBack.

[Sir Gawain]

Are you trying to say that NTFS is the reason your modem wasn't being recognized? I doubt that. NTFS is better than FAT32 also.