MS does it again...

According to an article in Information Week, Microsoft is aware that the 'Kama Sutra/Blackworm/MyWife' worm will hit on Friday, overwriting office documents, but will not release a patch until its regular monthly patch release on February 14th. Unless, that is, you subscribe to one of Microsoft's pay security services, in which case your machine will have the worm removed in advance." From the article: "The blog offered no explanation why the tool wouldn't be updated earlier, nor did Microsoft immediately respond to questions. Each month, Microsoft pushes a revised tool to Windows users who have Automatic Update enabled for Windows Update or Microsoft Update. The Redmond, Wash.-based company has released the Malicious Software Removal Tool off-schedule once before, in August 2005, shortly after the Zotob worm began striking Windows 2000 systems.


http//www.informationweek.com/...


And some people wounder why some people hate MS so much...

I'm laughing on my hacked copy of Mac OSx86 right now :)

>>2 This and my free copy of Linux.

But seriously, why can any other OS deliver updates regularly and fix bugs/security holes after some hours/days and MS can't? And you even have to pay for? MS is definitely doing something wrong.

>>2 Same person

Maybe MS thinks that they don't really need to be in a rush for anything at the moment. They have around 90% of the market (this percentage has probably dropped from the estimate but its still much higher than any other company)

If you're stupid enough to think Microsoft's monthly "Malicious Software Removal Tool" is a replacement for a proper anti-virus program you deserve to have all your documents erased.

>>5

Also true

>>3
When you buy an OS you're not paying for patches, you're paying for the boxed OS. Patches are a perk, a premium service. People who bought WinXPSP0 bought a shithole of an OS. MS was GRACIOUS enough to get patches and service packs out to them.

If people would recognize this I have a feeling the Unix model would gain shitloads of amounts of ground. As Ubuntu is beginning to demonstrate, the one obstacle lying between the user and an easy, integrative, hands-off experience is Microsoft's strangehold on the industry. As long as they play their politics as they have, it will continue to be so.

>>5
AV is not the answer. AV is a treadmill.

>>7
Wrong. When you buy a Microsoft OS you are paying for future updates and fixes. They have a proper product lifecycle plan, providing free fixes to the public for up to ten years after the initial release. It's not Microsoft being "gracious", it's all part of their business plan. The paid-for support is intended for businesses who have specific issues with the software and can request those issues be fixed for them, or fixed faster than the public patches do.

>>8
Perhaps, but that doesn't make running one any less essential. Besides, this latest Kamasutra worm is not exploiting a specific security vulnerability in the OS, but user ignorance. Yes, this worm and many like it arrives as a program in an email attachment pretending to be porn (similar ones masquerade as games, screensavers, virus removal tools, etc). In these cases, it is the user that gets punished for their own ignorance.

>>9
LOL 10 YEARS

MS has absolutely zero obligation to provide security fixes, as demonstrated by the thousands of known security holes in XPSP2. Yes, it's a part of their business plan to tease the public with a mirage of security and helpfulness, while averting their eyes from the most major security issues and stroking the user's back with the next OS release.

This is all moot anyways. You're only going to have this virus if you stupidly opened emails with the virus in an attachment.

If you're retarded enough to open the email with the title GET A BIG C0CK NOW with an attachment on it you deserve it.

Dont be a moron and you dont have to worry about it. K?

so this thing only comes as an attachment to email and is blatantly labled as an exe file? There's no other way to get it? like through an unsecured port? And I've opened a few failed zip files over the past month, but they weren't from email. What's the likelihood I've been infected?

Is there was ANY real competition in the OS market, M$ would had flopped ages ago beacuse of all the security holes.

Although now Apple and Linux Distro are gaining more grounds than ever so hopefully that will change.

>>13

It's called the "Nyxem virus"
It comes to you in an email labled as Kama Sutra or something along those lines. Basically don't open random shit in emails and you have nothing to worry about.

If you do happen to have it, run anti virus now or kiss goodbye to the following files

DMP - Oracle files
DOC - Word document
MDB - Microsoft Access
MDE - Microsoft Access/Office
PDF - Adobe Acrobat
PPS - PowerPoint slideshow
PPT - PowerPoint
PSD - Photoshop
RAR - Compressed archive
XLS - Excel spreadsheet
ZIP - Compressed file

Although it's probably too late for some people :D