Latest Windows versions vulnerable to unusually serious hacker attacks

AP ^ | 12-20-01 | TED BRIDIS

[Oldeconomybuyer]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Microsoft's newest version of Windows, billed as the most secure ever, contains several serious flaws that allow hackers to steal or destroy a victim's data files across the Internet or implant rogue computer software. The company released a free fix Thursday.

[Publius6961]

"This is the most secure version of Windows we have ever released," said Culp, adding that complex software "will always fall short of perfection."

I would not characterize total vulnerability as "falling short of perfection", LOL

More like total incompetent failure to deliver as advertised?

[G.Mason]

Thanks for the find and the post.

[Digital Chaos]

Looks more to me like Microsofts back door was discovered

[stainlessbanner]

Ping!

[sigSEGV]

After reading the advisory at www.eeye.com, this is just plain old awful programming. If sloppy junk like this can just slip through, imagine all the things wrong with the other 100 million lines of code.

[Ouachita]

Bumping to read later.

[SGCOS]

Windows? With a security flaw?

And here I am being advised Microsoft gets a bad rap cuz people delete program files.

[Fractal Trader]

A Microsoft official acknowledged that the risk to consumers was unprecedented because the glitches allow hackers to seize control of all Windows XP operating system software without requiring a computer user to do anything except connect to the Internet.

"Universal Plug and Play" -- Let any unwanted intruder take over your machine. It's not a bug, it's a feature!

[dwollmann]

#!/usr/bin/perl

use warnings;
use strict;
no windows;

use FreeRepublic::Bumper;

print FreeRepublic::Bumper->Bump;

[COL. FLAGG]

ROTLMAO!!!!!

Dedicated Mac User.

[Dominic Harr]

If sloppy junk like this can just slip through, imagine all the things wrong with the other 100 million lines of code.

Just imagine all the things wrong with .NET . . .

[B Knotts]

The saddest part of this article:

Just last week, Microsoft's corporate security officer, Howard Schmidt, expressed frustration about continuing threats from overflows. "I'm still amazed that we allow these things to occur," he said at a conference of technology executives. Schmidt is expected soon to resign from Microsoft to work for President Bush's top computer security adviser.

[Harrison Bergeron]

"Looks more to me like Microsofts back door was discovered"

The info in this article lends creedence to speculation that the security experts stumbled on a key logger that was intentionally built-in to Windows. Whether the key logger was installed for the benefit of spooks or LEOs is anybody's guess. But anybody who thinks something like that could remain secret long enough to be useful is smoking rope.

[toupsie]

Another daily affirmation that owning a Mac is so much better than owning a Windows machine. It seems every day another major Microsoft problem is exposed to the public. I really sorry for those that put down serious money on a Windows computer only to find out they bought a dangerous lemon.

[Ragin1]

"You don't think the Feds dropped the case against them for nothing, do you?"

Just what I was thinking. Things just don't go away when it comes to the fed's. Microsoft's doing something more than "giving" to the schools.

[JoeSchem]

Dedicated Mac User.

Dedicated Windows 95 User here. My next operating system will be Linux.

[Thud]

This is hilarious.

[JRandomFreeper]

universal plug and play technology.

That sounds like something the Borg came up with. Adaptive assimilation.

/john