A new virus has been on the rampage lately. Simply being "online" puts you at risk. Many of you have been hit already. I know this topic has already been covered in a couple of threads, I'm just trying to spread the word as much as possible! If your computer is not behind a firewall, you are at risk. If you don't know what a "firewall" is, and you are on your computer at home, you probably do not have one. If you are at work, you are probably safe. (most corporate networks are behind firewalls) Like I have stated in other threads, a good hardware based firewall is invaluable, and this virus is just one GOOD example. I will recommend a few firewalls at the bottom of this post.
Symptoms:
The only thing I have heard about is the computer "shutting down in 60 seconds", and something about a "Remote Procedure Call".
Let me emphasize strongly that you should install the fix for this virus IF YOU HAVE BEEN INFECTED OR NOT! If you are certain that you have already been infected, there is a removal tool here. There is also a fix that can be installed on your machine that can protect you from the get-go. It appears at this time that only Windows 2000 and Windows XP are at risk. (There are others, but they are server operating systems) The corresponding fixes are below:
Windows 2000
Windows XP
You need to install these updates soon because I found this tidbit of info about this virus on a website:
If the current month is after August, or if the current date is after the 15th, the worm will perform a DoS (denial of service) attack on Windows Update. The worm will activate the DoS attack on the 16th of this month, and continue until the end of the year. This means that the fix could be difficult to get at the end of this week.
This brings me to another important point. USE WINDOWS UPDATE OFTEN. There has been a link in the start menu in all versions of Windows since '98. USE IT. It will scan your computer and tell you which updates you need. You can find the update that fixes the above mentioned virus there. It has been there for weeks. Security Update for Windows 2000/XP (823980) Windows Update may already be under attack, as it is running very slow at the time of this post.
If you would like to read more information about this virus, here are a few articles:
Info on the virus from Symantec
Info on the vulnerability from Microsoft
As I promised, a couple of firewalls that I would recommend are the Linksys BEFSR41 or the Netgear RP614. Of course you will need to be a Cable or DSL subscriber to use one of these.
Good luck to all...
Stuman
Symptoms:
The only thing I have heard about is the computer "shutting down in 60 seconds", and something about a "Remote Procedure Call".
Let me emphasize strongly that you should install the fix for this virus IF YOU HAVE BEEN INFECTED OR NOT! If you are certain that you have already been infected, there is a removal tool here. There is also a fix that can be installed on your machine that can protect you from the get-go. It appears at this time that only Windows 2000 and Windows XP are at risk. (There are others, but they are server operating systems) The corresponding fixes are below:
Windows 2000
Windows XP
You need to install these updates soon because I found this tidbit of info about this virus on a website:
If the current month is after August, or if the current date is after the 15th, the worm will perform a DoS (denial of service) attack on Windows Update. The worm will activate the DoS attack on the 16th of this month, and continue until the end of the year. This means that the fix could be difficult to get at the end of this week.
This brings me to another important point. USE WINDOWS UPDATE OFTEN. There has been a link in the start menu in all versions of Windows since '98. USE IT. It will scan your computer and tell you which updates you need. You can find the update that fixes the above mentioned virus there. It has been there for weeks. Security Update for Windows 2000/XP (823980) Windows Update may already be under attack, as it is running very slow at the time of this post.
If you would like to read more information about this virus, here are a few articles:
Info on the virus from Symantec
Info on the vulnerability from Microsoft
As I promised, a couple of firewalls that I would recommend are the Linksys BEFSR41 or the Netgear RP614. Of course you will need to be a Cable or DSL subscriber to use one of these.
Good luck to all...
Stuman
