Reasons to Avoid Microsoft

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Virus/Worm

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• Spreading Internet worm shuts down [Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration] (SunSpot.net, 2003.08.12)
  All 24 offices of the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration were shut down by the [Blaster] infection by noon, sending more than 700 customer service workers home and turning away hundreds of people looking to renew licenses and vehicle registrations. ... 'Instead of just spreading itself, it could spread itself and delete everything on your computer,' [Gartner security research vice president] said.
  

• 'LovSan' Worm Crawls Into Philly's City Hall (NBC 10, 2003.08.12)
  An Internet worm is spreading like wildfire on millions of computers around the world, and it has infected Philadelphia's City Hall. ... [It took] out approximately 5,000 of the city's 15,000 desktop computers.
  

• Windows worm starts its spread (CNet News, 2003.08.11)
  A worm that takes advantage of what some security experts have called the most widespread Windows flaw ever has started spreading, fulfilling the predictions of many researchers. ... The Windows flaw has been characterized by some security experts as the most widespread ever found in Microsoft's OS.
  

• Experts: Microsoft security gets an 'F' (CNN, 2003.02.01)
  Computer security experts say the recent 'SQL Slammer' worm, the worst in more than a year, is evidence that Microsoft's year-old security push is not working. 'Trustworthy Computing is failing ... now I'd give it an 'F.'' ... 'It would be much better if the software shipped from Microsoft with fewer problems to begin with.'
  

• Free benchmark could have found Slammer vulnerability (Computerworld, 2003.01.31)
  Not only could companies have easily slammed the door on the Slammer worm if they had installed the patch released by Microsoft Corp. six months ago, but they could also have uncovered the vulnerability exploited by the worm using a free benchmark developed jointly by the government and private sector.
  

• Microsoft fails Slammer's security test (C|Net, 2003.01.27)
  Microsoft's policy of relying on software patches to fix major security flaws was questioned Monday after a series of internal e-mails revealed that the software giant's own network wasn't immune from a worm that struck the Internet last weekend.
  

• Bank of America ATMs Disrupted by Virus (Washington Post, 2003.01.25)
  [Customers] at a majority of its 13,000 automatic teller machines were unable to process customer transactions after a malicious computer worm nearly froze Internet traffic worldwide.
  

• Virus-like attack slows Web traffic (MSNBC, 2003.01.25)
  The outbreak was so severe that while it infected only back-end Internet computers, general e-mail use and Web browsing were slowed by its effects. ... Within a few hours, 25,000 back-end database servers [running Microsoft SQL Server] had been infected... nearly 20 percent of Internet traffic was lost during the frantic morning attack...
  

• MS SQL Worm is Destroying Internet; Block port 1434! (SecurityFocus Mailing Lists, 2003.01.25)
  I'm getting massive packet loss to various points on the globe. ... It looks like there's a worm affecting MS SQL Server which is pingflooding addresses at some random sequence.
  

• China Says Viruses Infect 80 Percent of Computers (Reuters, 2002.Oct.9)
  'Only 16 percent of computer users we sampled this year reported they were free from any virus attack...' Half of the infected machines had suffered data losses, problems browsing the Web, or other damage...
  

• Another New Worm Takes Aim at Windows (PC World, 2002.Oct.4)
  A new worm that targets machines running Microsoft's Windows 95, 98, and ME operating systems is spreading... Once it hits a machine, Opasoft scans the infected computer's network for other machines to attack. ...the worm [opens] a back door...
  

• Bugbear Windows Virus Making the Rounds (Slashdot.org, 2002.Oct.4)
  Unlike ILovYou-type viri, instead of deleting files or just propagating itself, this animal disables firewall software and opens a port to receive remote commands.
  

• Bugbear Virus Spreading Rapidly (PC World, 2002.Oct.2)
  [The] virus generates random attachment names and subject lines to avoid easy detection by antivirus software and assigns multiple file extensions to the virus to disguise the fact that it is an executable file... Once activated, the virus shuts down vital processes used by antivirus and firewall software, records user keystrokes to capture passwords, sends copies of itself as e-mail attachments, and copies itself onto directories shared by networks that are accessible to the computers it infects. ... Finally, Bugbear opens a back door to the machines that it infects. Using a Web browser, the virus author or malicious hackers can access a Web interface created by the virus, browse local files on an infected machine, and execute programs on that machine...
  

• Virus Dials 911 (ABC News, 2002.Jul.23)
  A new e-mail virus has hit some WebTV [a.k.a. MSNTV] devices, and its effects could have ramifications for the emergency phone network. ... Technicians are advising victims to "hard nuke" their unit - in other words to reset the machine by entering a new code.
  

• W32/Klez (Virus Bulletin, 2002.Jul)
  When W32/Klez first appeared, it seemed like just another mass mailer of little note, but its later variants have spread so widely and rapidly that the Klez family has generated more interest. At the time of writing, there are 12 known variants of Klez. Despite the speed with which anti-virus developers released detection updates, despite the fact that some anti-virus products detected the later variants even before they were released, and despite its destructive payload, Klez remains a problem that shows no sign of being resolved in the near future.
  

• Popular Online Game Site Spread Nimda Virus (Yahoo! News, 2002.Jun.27)
  Some video game players got a nasty surprise this week when they downloaded software from a popular online gaming site -- the Nimda computer virus. ... [A] total of 3,100 infected files were served...
  

• Microsoft accidentally distributes virus (C|Net, 2002.Jun.14)
  Microsoft's flagship developer tools [Visual Studio .Net] picked up [the virulent Nimda worm]... [This] is yet another stain on Microsoft's reputation as the company works to convince the public and the tech community that its products are secure.
  

• Chernobyl virus rides Klez's coattails (CNet, 2002.May.06)
  [The four-year old 'Chernobyl' virus] has been detected in recent infections of the Klez worm. ... the viral bonus wasn't intentional but rather a by-product of Chernobyl-infected PCs also propagating the Klez worm. 'As far as (Chernobyl) is concerned, the Klez worm is just another file to infect'... [Klez has been ranked] as No. 3 on [a] list of all-time most active computer pests.
  

• Klez: Don't Believe 'From' Line (Wired, 2002.Apr.30)
  Some Internet users have recently received an e-mail message from a dead friend. Others have been subscribed to obscure mailing lists. Some have lost their Internet access after being accused of spamming, and still others have received e-mailed pornography from a priest. ... The virus can launch automatically when users click to preview or read e-mails bearing Klez on systems that have not been patched for a year-old vulnerability in Internet Explorer, Outlook and Outlook Express. Klez only affects PCs running Microsoft's Windows operating system.
  

• Klez Worm, Not Sender, Hates You (Wired, 2002.Apr.24)
  Many computer users say that friends, co-workers and business associates are angrily -- or patronizingly -- accusing them of sending out viruses. Some victims say they fear their professional reputations have been harmed. ... [Some people are] worried the Klez e-mails that appear to come from [them] will negatively impact [their] small business[es].
  

• W32.Gibe@mm (Symantec, 2002.Mar.06)
  W32.Gibe@mm is a worm that uses Microsoft Outlook ... to spread. This worm arrives in an email message--which is disguised as a Microsoft Internet Security Update...
  

• Sharpei virus hits C# note (CNet, 2002.Mar.01)
  ...the worm uses the Outlook address book to send messages--with a copy of the virus attached--to every address in the book. It then deletes the e-mails from the sent folder and removes the copy of itself. On PCs loaded with Windows XP and other .Net-enabled computers, however, Sharpei would additionally infect files in four other folders. If those files were opened, the virus would run again.
  

• Microsoft Instant Messenger Virus Sweeps Net (Slashdot, 2002.Feb.13)
  ...the code could have done worse than just messaging your contacts. With Microsoft making 'messaging' an integrated part of the operating system, any flaws in it can be exploited to affect millions of people instantly, so it is a high-value target. Does it have commensurate high-strength security?
  

• W32.Myparty@mm (Symantec, 2002.Jan.26)
  The worm sends email to all contacts in your Windows address book, and to email addresses that if finds in the Outlook Express Inboxes and folders. ... On NT/2000/XP systems, the worm drops a backdoor Trojan that allows a hacker to control your system. NAV will detect this as Backdoor.Myparty.
  

• W32.Donut [First .NET virus] (Symantec, 2002.Jan.09)
  This virus targets EXE files that were created for the Microsoft .NET framework. ... it shows that virus writers are paying close attention to the new .NET architecture and attempting to learn how to exploit it before the Framework will be available on most systems.
  

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