Eye on Microsoft: Emergency, Botnets, and No Remedy
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2009-07-26 08:50:30 UTC
- Modified: 2009-07-26 08:50:30 UTC
Summary: Self-explanatory news about Microsoft and security
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Microsoft to issue emergency patches next week
Microsoft plans to issue two emergency patches next week that fix vulnerabilities in the Internet Explorer browser and Visual Studio developer suite that allow attackers to remotely execute malware.
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Software Crackdown
Cyber attacks seem to be getting more sophisticated by the hour. A few weeks ago malware known as Zero Day was found to have exploited a vulnerability in Microsoft's Windows operating system that could allow online criminals to take control of a computer from anywhere in the world without being detected. The operation involved what is known as "drive by" attacks, in which visitors to legitimate Web sites are redirected to a page that secretly downloads the malicious software.
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Microsoft admits it can't stop Office file format hacks
Microsoft's plan to "sandbox" Office documents in the next version of its application suite is an admission that the company can't keep hackers from exploiting file format bugs, a security analyst said today.
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Comments
David Gerard
2009-07-26 19:01:17
Roy Schestowitz
2009-07-26 19:28:25
Forget about malicious programs. When we have binary formats we also deal with malicious file formats and files that become malicious when merely interpreted, not executed.
David Gerard
2009-07-26 20:33:59
(a) in the '90s, Microsoft made a lot of their file formats dumps of C structs, for performance reasons;
(b) when this became incredibly hazardous with the Internet, and computers were powerful enough to check for malicious input ... they just kept on using the old code.
Then their master stroke of putting a complete programming language inside Office, thus inventing the macro virus.
Then their other master stroke of programs that execute any random instructions they happen to find in EMAIL MESSAGES.
INNOVATION!