Posted on 09/11/2002 1:40:24 PM PDT by HAL9000
Windows XP contains massive security hole
Install the Service Pack and, shush, don't tell anyone...
MICROSOFT'S RUSH to get Windows XP SP1 out and about may have been motivated by a desire to hide a vulnerability afflicting the operating system (cough) that allows hackers to delete files from a computer accessing a tweaked web page.
According to this Spanish-language site, a Googled translation of which is here, "a defect in Windows XP allows that anyone can erase archives of our computer if click becomes on a connection maliciously constructed, as much when visiting a malignant Web site, like a receiving a message with format HTML". Sorry about the language, but you get the picture.
A reader writes a little more clearly that this vulnerability allows the files contained in any specified directory on your system to be deleted if you click on a specially-formed URL. He points to Gibson Research here, where they warn, "This URL could appear anywhere: sent in malicious eMail, in a chat room, in a newsgroup posting, on a malicious web page, or even executed when your computer merely visits a malicious web page. It is likely to be widely exploited soon."
This is a critical vulnerability and one Microsoft has done its best to keep secret, it seems.
Another reader tells us he saw a report on TechTV, the background to which they give here where they state that Microsoft has known about the flaw for some 11 weeks but kept the lid on it because it is so easy to exploit.
Microsoft urges Windows XP users to download the Service Pack and install it as quickly as possible. You can find that here . It's a large file, though, and CD versions are only available on the US and Canada at the moment, according to Microsoft.
The advice from various sources for users unable to install the Service Pack is to find and rename the affected file uplddrvinfo.htm. µ
I F***ing hate Micro$oft.
Microsoft has not delivered what I want in an OS because it would shut down the perpetual upgrade machine.
If you had to buy six cars in succession from the same vendor in seven years, would it speak well of the vendor's quality??
I dunno. Maybe one or two more?
Wanna be Penguified? Just holla!
Got root?
Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!
Jeez. What a question. How many automobiles have you built? Do you have to build one--or just pay for one--to be angry when it breaks?
Good Hunting... from Varmint Al
I agree. I have Win2000 Professional running on a 500 MHz Gateway laptop that has run 24/7 for a year without a hiccup. Only restarts are when necessary after downloading OS or program updates.
Both Win2000 and XP are much more stable than Win/me in my experience.
Jack
I don't know about XP but win2k is very stable. It is the best MS OS ever, IMO. Of course, I prefer linux but unfortunately not everything I like to run works in linux yet.
I know, I know. If only I had a Mac. Not only is the G4 fast enough to execute an infinite loop in under half a second, OS X has uptimes measured in eons. Not only does it never, ever crash, it has been scientifically proven to boost a user's IQ by 30%, cure cancer by the laying on of hands, increase bank accounts to billionaire levels, and attract more hot women than a light beer commercial. Keeping a Mac in one's bedroom permits it to emit mysterious "Z" rays during the night, which act to prevent nightmares, back problems, and bedwetting. It's a floor wax, a dessert topping, the mother you never knew, and a therapist all rolled into one. And all this for only $0.37.
Did I leave anything out? :^)
Well... so far as you know. No telling what happens when XP PHONES HOME.
Oh, that's a feature... like the old "rm -rf /' game in Linux. Watch the disk access LED light up real bright.
Well, why do you think they now ship PC's with DVD drives? I hear the .NyET developer package only comes on DVD. It is only a matter of time before Winders will consume ever more resources.
Bloat - it's not just for after dinner anymore.
Yeah! Enter "rm -f /" into your shell prompt and watch those pretty little lights go! ;-)
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