The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Infected XP owners left unpatched

    Discussion in 'Security and Anti-Virus Software' started by Tinderbox (UK), Apr 17, 2010.

  1. Tinderbox (UK)

    Tinderbox (UK) BAKED BEAN KING

    Reputations:
    4,745
    Messages:
    8,513
    Likes Received:
    3,823
    Trophy Points:
    431
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8624560.stm

    Infected XP owners left unpatched

    Some of the latest security updates for Windows XP will not be installed on machines infected with a rootkit virus.

    A rootkit is sneaky malware that buries itself deep inside the Windows operating system to avoid detection.

    Microsoft said it had taken the action because similar updates issued in February made machines infected with the Alureon rootkit crash endlessly.

    The latest updates can spot if a system is compromised by the Alureon rootkit and halt installation.

    Find and fix

    The latest batch of updates for Windows was released on 16 April and some of them fix vulnerabilities in the core, or kernel, of Windows. This is the same place that rootkits try to take up residence.

    When Alureon is present it monitors net traffic and plucks out user names, passwords and credit card numbers. It also gives attackers a back door into infected machines.

    The virus first appeared in 2008 and has been spread via discussion forums, hacked websites and bogus pay-per-click affiliate schemes.

    FREE ANTI-ROOTKIT TOOLS
    AVG
    Avira
    F-Secure - Blacklight
    McAfee
    Panda
    Sophos
    Trend Micro

    Notes for the security patch explained which "abnormal conditions" would prevent XP users applying the updates.

    "These abnormal conditions on a system could be the result of an infection with a computer virus that modifies some operating system files, which renders the infected computer incompatible with the kernel update," read the statement.

    By not applying the patch, Microsoft hopes to avoid a repeat of events in February which left many people struggling to get their computer working again.

    Microsoft also wants to avoid a situation in which people become wary of updates because they provoke a crash.

    It is not yet clear how many people have been left without the updates.

    Microsoft urged those who are infected to ensure their machine is cleaned of the rootkit. It recommended using its malware removal tool or using rootkit detectors from other security companies.

    Many modern security packages have them built in and will find rootkits when a machine is scanned.
     
    Tinderbox (UK), Apr 17, 2010
    #1
  2. Angelic

    Angelic Kickin' back :3

    Reputations:
    4,496
    Messages:
    2,075
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    More reason to leave XP behind.
     
    Angelic, Apr 18, 2010
    #2