A new webworm that contains this:
“Billy Gates why do you make this possible? Stop making money and fix your software,”
Now that’s one pissed off XP customer.
Thank you for that article!
I was wondering what was causing my computer to die like that. I guess it’s time i caved and bought an anti-virus, huh?
AVG Antivirus is a good AV app and it’s free. If you like it,then buy the full version. Sygate has a good free firewall. (Bottom of the page). I use the Pro version myself.
He did fix his software. About a month ago, I think.
Also, what is with this strange belief that Gates personally codes all Microsoft programs? I bet he hasn’t touched a compiler in years.
I agree with Hausky. The patch for this exploit was published on the sixteenth of July. If people ran Windows Update at least weekly or biweekly, this would have been a non-issue. It’s even possible to schedule Update to run automatically, I believe.
Gates may be a tosser, but as observed above, he isn’t the entirety of the Microsoft organization.
Whatever faults a piece of software might have, I don’t see that as an invitation to exploit it and do damage through it. Hell, I don’t have the most up to date car alarm, does that give someone the right to take my car and admonish me to get a better one next time?
“Billy Gates why do you make this possible? Stop making money and fix your software,”
What a fucking moron.
ANYONE that creates a worm or virus should be forced to fix every single server they crash and I personally would LOVE it if the bastards would be made to reconfigure every personal computer they infest. I hate with a passion these pseudohumans. There will be a special place in Hades for them. I put in a special order last week.
Seriously? These little fucks cost people a lot of time and money. Their very existence means that thousands of otherwise talented people are wasting time dealing with their idiocy when they could be doing something productive. Entire software product lines are rendered unusable. They contribute nothing (well, there was that one time that someone crashed the SDMB. That was pretty freakin cool, huh?:rolleyes: ).
I JUST HACKED YUOR SERVER!1!! YUO R OWN3D!1!! IMAM TEH WIN!!!1!!
Ah, but let’s not forget the valuable service they provide to us all by pointing out the flaws in our software.
Using the same logic, I’d like to suggest forming a non-profit group to track them all down and demonstrate the flaws in their ability to avoid being kicked repeatedly by large men wearing heavy boots.
Yes, let’s just get this out of the way from the start.
I run (Mac OS X/nix/stone tablets with chisels) and I don’t get viruses! Nyah! j00 suxx0r![ul][li]Boy, I’m sure glad that there’s never been a root exploit for nix. You be sure to mention it when it happens, right?[]Until I can get 100% compatibility for both bleedin’ edge and classic games on a different OS, I’m a’keepin’ my DOS and Windows boxes. WINE doesn’t cut it, but thanks for suggesting it again.[]Yes, I’m sure Tux Racer is a great game.[/ul]Well, if you’d just (not open executables from strangers/download security patches regularly/update your virus definitions) then you wouldn’t have these problems![/li]
I was covered, thanks. My response to this was to check to see if there was a critical patch pending for my installation, and then shrugged and went about my day. I have no irrational loyalty to the Windows world, but as that’s where I do my work and I play my games, I’m sort of tied to it.
Smugly parading your sense of superiority every time there’s a worm or a virus doesn’t really win converts. Hell, I think there’s a greater risk in assuming you’re untouchable than knowing you’re vulnerable and taking measures.
There. Now we can avoid that hijack, and we can all be friends again.
lno, so despite the fact that nobody in this thread mentioned the use of any alternative OS, you decide to launch into some weird rant about *nix gaming compatibility? I don’t much care about what OS you use, nor I am trying to “convert” anyone. I install and recommend XP on most systems and use it for gaming myself. As far as I’m concerned, this issue isn’t even about Windows vs. alternative operating systems. The point is there will always be sociopathic wastes trying to get the upper hand in every area of life and exercising a little caution and proactive behavior probably isn’t a bad idea. If advising people to frequently apply security patches and update virus defs is smug, then considering my internet connection is currently bogged down through my ISP’s efforts to contain the worm, I say too bad and I’d I’d say the same regardless of whatever OS is involved.
Chief Crunch, I have nothing against alternative OSes. I would prefer to use one myself, except as stated, my current OS needs are not served by an alternate OS.
I misspoke (miswrote?) in my previous post, and would like to clarify that the people who advocate proactive behavior are not the subject of the post; rather, the people whose response is “Oh, your hard drive was formatted by a virus? Well, you should use a Mac, nothing bad ever happens to those”. The purpose of that post, as stated in the very first line, was to attempt to get that inevitable tangent out of the way.
I fully agree that this issue isn’t about Windows vs. an alternative OS, but since these threads always generate at least one drive-by comment in that vein, it was a bit of a preemptive “yes, we know, now stop nagging”.
YAAAGH! I hate this stupid thing. Crashed my system yesterday - now I can’t log on to the internet for more than 2 minutes at a time without the whole fucking computer shutting down.
Downloaded the fix from Symantec - yes I did, but you have to start the fucking computer in SAFE MODE to fix it. Anyone want to tell me how to get my damn “autostart” computer to start in SAFE MODE since it boots right into Windows XP? I checked MicroCrap’s website to see how to do it, and it’s telling me to hit F8 when I see some message that NEVER FUCKING COMES UP on my system. Something about “select operating” something something.
So now I am pissed because my computer’s infected and because DogDad’s pissed, HE is pissed because he can’t do anything on the computer thanks to these pissant computer shitheads who think they’re oh-so-superior because they crashed my computer, and Microshit’s not helping in the slightest.
Oh, and I do have Automatic Updates enabled. That frigging thing is another pain in the ass. It told me for FIVE DAYS in a row about the same files being “new” and “updates available”. Even though I’d already downloaded them. Twice.
I betcha that a 100-story skyscraper has more security holes than a two-story house…
I’m not sure what you mean by ‘autostart’, but I’ll try to clarify MS’s instructions about how to load safe mode.
When you turn on your computer, before Windows XP loads, the computer goes through some system checks. It sees whether the memory is valid, it identifies what storage devices are attached, it sees if the keyboard is plugged in, et cetera. Depending on your hardware, the computer may or may not beep at you after the memory check.
If/when you hear a beep, start whacking away at F8. It won’t hurt if you do it too early or late. If you missed the narrow window of opportunity, you’ll see the regular Windows screen. If you got it in time, though, you’ll most likely see a menu with options, one of which will be labeled ‘safe mode’. That should do it for you, and I hope it helps.
Boot your computer and repeatedly tap F8 right from the start. Eventually you should see a boot options screen with Safe Mode as an option.
Yeah, plenty of people thought so. Even lots of diligent network administrators who never procrastinate on installing those ubiquitous MS critical security updates.
Only from Microsoft: The False Sense of Security Update™
[nitpick]Whoever wrote this thing isn’t a script kiddie. It takes some talent to write the code to exploit this hole. A script kiddie would be the person who downloads this, and runs it on purpose without knowing how it does what it does.[/nitpick]
Sorry. Had to get that out of the way. What I find sad is someone out there has such a poor sense of humor that they think infecting all these systems is funny. Or maybe a poor sense of ethics in thinking that by spreading this they are helping people patch, and making the internet safer.
[hijack] I also hate the news people getting information wrong on this. News here in Vegas said that this is a problem in “all Microsoft software”. So listening to this story I should make sure that my Mac running MS Office is patched? MS Office is a Microsoft product. How about my old Win98 or my WinME systems?[/hijack]