Zero Day

Ryan Naraine, Emil Protalinski and Dancho Danchev

Microsoft planning quiet Patch Tuesday (1 critical)

By Ryan Naraine | January 8, 2009, 10:32am PST

Summary: Microsoft plans to ship a solitary security bulletin next Tuesday with fixes for a serious security problem in its flagship Windows operating system. The bulletin will carry a “critical” rating, which means that exploitation of the vulnerability could allow the propagation of an Internet worm without user action. According to an advance notice issued by Redmond, the [...]

Microsoft plans to ship a solitary security bulletin next Tuesday with fixes for a serious security problem in its flagship Windows operating system.

The bulletin will carry a “critical” rating, which means that exploitation of the vulnerability could allow the propagation of an Internet worm without user action.

According to an advance notice issued by Redmond, the flaw is rated critical on Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

On Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, the severity is downgraded to “moderate.”

Technical details on this issue will not be publicly available until Microsoft ships the patch on January 13, 2009.

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Microsoft Windows Server, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Security, Servers, Software, Hardware, Ryan Naraine

Ryan Naraine is a journalist and social media enthusiast specializing in Internet and computer security issues.

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RE: Microsoft planning quiet Patch Tuesday (1 critical)

birumut Updated - 4th May 2011

Well done! Thank you very much for professional templates and community edition
seslisohbet seslichat

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yet another evidence that Vista is safer than XP

qmlscycrajg 9th Jan 2009

On Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, the severity is downgraded to ?moderate.?

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Safer??

Theo49 12th Jan 2009

Would you rather have a "moderate" case of Ebola, or a "severe" case?

Threats are threats and most users are clueless or at least pretty close to clueless when it comes to dealing with threats.

Why do you see all those new viruses, Spam in your e-mail, spyware by the ton, and the list goes on and on. All this is produced because there are lots of people stupid enough to fall for the many ploys that spread these problems.

Any opsys is only as safe/secure as the operator. Just remember the mnemonic "PICNIC" which means "Problem In Chair Not In Computer". Most problems I see are PICNIC's.

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RE: Microsoft planning quiet Patch Tuesday (1 critical)

r.heat@... 9th Jan 2009

Maybe safer, but at what cost ? Vista not worth a dime.

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RE: Microsoft planning quiet Patch Tuesday (1 critical)

delf 9th Jan 2009

As long as there are hackers, there will be patches. I have not seen any software that is without it's flaws and shortcomings.

Obviously, the center of focus will be where the majority of users are found. So it should come as no surprise that Vista seems safer right now due to the resistance to migrate over to it, which has been well documented. As the shift occurs, it would not be surprising to see the safety erode as the attention also shifts to find and exploit possible weaknesses.

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RE: Microsoft planning quiet Patch Tuesday (1 critical)

wezhind@... 9th Jan 2009

Blame the 'hackers'.

If your car won't go anywhere cos somebody stuck a
knife in the tyre, do you blame the car manufacturer
for not making knife-proof tyre or the VANDAL who
stuck the knife in.

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Bad analogy

ejhonda 10th Jan 2009

If knives cover the road as a matter of course, then yes, you blame the car manufacturer for not equipping the car to handle the realities of the environment the car is going to be operated in.

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Summary is wrong

Qbt 11th Jan 2009

Microsoft plans to ship a solitary security bulletin next Tuesday with fixes for a serious security problem in its flagship Windows operating system

"Flagship" would imply their latest OS, which is Vista and Windows Server 2008. And in both of those cases, the severity has been reduced to "moderate" as you state 3 paragraphs later.

You could have done the Right Thing and instead made a point about how the later OSes seem to be more secure, but instead you opted for the factually incorrect choice in order to shovel the ususal ZDNet FUD. Do they give you training courses at ZDNet on how to write FUD?

Sad, really sad...

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RE: Microsoft planning quiet Patch Tuesday (1 critical)

rneas 12th Jan 2009

I personally think that we as consumers are stupid for not suing MS years ago for crappy software. If I had bought a product that needed as many "fixes" as windows needed, I'd return it. But once you install it... no money back.

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RE: Microsoft planning quiet Patch Tuesday (1 critical)

winner00799@... 12th Jan 2009

I think the holes in security is outrageous, is that the sum total of your thinking, Mr Gates.

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RE: Microsoft planning quiet Patch Tuesday (1 critical)

james_linde 13th Jan 2009

What a bunch of winers, jeez. My Vista works perfect, design apps run fast and stable, games are faster and better looking than ever. Maybe I have a special Windows Vista running. LOL

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But everyone expects software to be perfect!

GameOvR 13th Jan 2009

Its a standard rule, yes software in many cases can be coded better. However look at the fact that Microsoft has a large share of the market and understand that there are people who live to just screw with Microsoft software. I use Linux and enjoy it, however it is a dual boot on my system and I see security updates for Linux as well so for everyone moaning, complaining that Windows is full of security holes, who the hell would know if there werent idiots on the planet trying to mess with MS software?

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RE: Microsoft planning quiet Patch Tuesday (1 critical)

Plethorah@... 15th Jan 2009

I have been tired of the Microsoft bashing for years. It's a bit like supporting an overseas footy team just because they're playing Man U. (I support BWFC but admire and respect the achievements up the road). The computer industry has repeatedly proved that being first or being the best will get you a dominant position faster than any previous commercial era. The game for the rest is to find something new (Google / Ebay etc), or to be better. When the others are faster and/or better they will gain the upper hand. Whether they then take Bills money is a human decision rather than a corporate evil.