This site is now AnswerTips enabled. Double-click any word for its definition.

CRITICAL WARNING

by Bill Hely

danger The importance of this message is indicated by the fact that on October 23 Microsoft did something they haven’t done for almost two years.

You see, Microsoft has an established cycle of releasing patches and updates on the second Tuesday of each month, and that’s a routine from which they haven’t deviated in a long time.

So when they suddenly push out a patch out-of-cycle you can take it as a pretty good indication that something important is afoot.

The “something important” this time is a threat that is being compared in potential severity to the MSBlaster worm that came close to crippling the Internet back in 2003.

The current threat is a virus attack that can potentially infect Windows machines across the Internet *WITH NO USER ACTION REQUIRED*. It is classified as Highly Critical and warrants your special and immediate attention.

The warning was issued in Microsoft Security bulletin MS08-067 (patch 958644) which you can read here:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx

Microsoft has released several versions of the patch that apply to different operating system versions. Clicking your operating system version in the left-hand column of the “Affected Software” table at the above URL will take you to the appropriate download.

Remember to reboot your PC both before and after installing any patch. Not to complete BOTH reboots risks a faulty or incomplete update.

For another take on the situation take a look at TechNet’s description here:

http://blogs.technet.com/swi/archive/2008/10/23/More-detail-about-MS08-067.aspx

In addition to the Microsoft patch be sure to update all your anti-malware applications, specifically anti-virus and anti-spyware tools, as many publishers have already issued updates to protect against this threat. However you should not rely on your anti-malware programs for absolute protection, as the scum who get a kick out of this sort of thing seem to be spawning new variations of this virus at a rapid rate, and each variation may require a different response from the anti-malware vendors.

If you don’t know or can’t remember how to apply patches and updates there is a complete description of everything you need to know in The Hacker’s Nightmare.