04.03.09
Are Windows Zombies (Conficker) Crippling DNS Again?
Summary: Network turbulence continues and Windows Vista is heading for a quarantine in Texas
IN yesterday's post about Conficker we showed that DNS was affected. While it could not be confirmed that Conficker was the cause, it was in fact the cause some time in the past and it appears as though it could be happening again. The following showed up yesterday:
• Register.com suffers DNS problems
The gossip on Twitter suggested that the company’s name servers were the target of aDDOS attack, though this hasn’t been confirmed.
• Register.com suffers further DOS attack
There is another noteworthy report:
• Conficker is a lesson for MPs – especially over ID cards
A trio of news pieces for you. The Conficker worm has got into the Houses of Parliament’s network and infected computers there. MPs have been told, in a written answer, that use by them of PGP, the commercial encryption system, is “not recommended” on the parliamentary network because it is “not compatible” with its current VPN (virtual private network). And, as I write, the database of MPs’ expenses is being hawked around to newspapers, for a high price.
Even British hospitals were affected by Conficker. In other words, the cost is mortal.
An ‘upgrade’ to the latest version of Windows would resolve or at least address absolutely nothing. It has probably been seen by many people by now that the Fiasco of the Year (Windows Vista) is potentially getting banned in Texan authorities.
Windows Vista gets a lot of grief both in tech circles and the general public — but one Texas lawmaker wants to make it a matter of public policy.
There is a lot more coverage that includes:
- Texas Bans Vista For State Gov
- “Texas senator: Let’s ban Windows Vista purchases
- Texas to Windows Vista: Keep Walkin’? (or this)
Et tu, Texas? █
Related posts
- Death by Microsoft Windows
- Eye on Security: ‘Fun’ with Zombies, Press Ignorance, and Bizarre Solutions
- US Army Becomes Zombies Army; London Hospitals Still Ill (Windows Viruses)
- Liability for Software When Life is at Stake
- Microsoft HealthVault: Death by Silverlight
- Windows Security: More of the Same
caffeine head said,
April 4, 2009 at 1:51 am
a potentially good thing that has resulted from the Conficker scare is an overall heightened awareness of PC security