Microsoft Patches Windows XP Wireless, Tells No One

TechWeb ^ | December 15, 2006 | Gregg Keizer

[Zakeet]

Microsoft quietly posted a Windows XP SP2 patch to make surfing public wireless hotspots safer, but did not include it with the December security updates released Tuesday and has not posted it as a download from Microsoft Update.

The update fixes a long-standing security problem in Windows XP SP2, which starts an automatic scan for wireless networks when a laptop boots or powers up from hibernation. Windows' Wi-Fi client goes through a list of previously-used wireless networks, and if it finds one, connects. The convenience, however, is offset by possible "man-in-the-middle" attacks, where criminals monitor hotspot traffic and then dupe others' notebooks into connecting to their PC, which is posing as an access point. Once an attacker has tricked a user into connecting to the rogue hotspot, he can capture all wireless data, including passwords or other confidential information.

[Alia]

Worrisome. Thank you for posting this.

[righthand man]

bttt

[expat_panama]

fyi and the the tech ping

[lrb111]

tag

[ShadowAce]

[Babu]

I went to the original article and clicked on all the links, but didn't seem to find the actual specific security patch discussed for notebooks. If someone has located it, could they please provide a link for the FR community?

Thanks in advance ...

[Turbopilot]

Link to patch from Microsoft web site

If that link doesn't work for some reason, go to www.microsoft.com and search for "KB917021", which is the number of the knowledgebase item associated with the patch. That search should take you directly to the download.