Windows firewall set ablaze
All Hallows breaks loose
By INQUIRER newsdesk: Tuesday 31 October 2006, 14:03
SECURITY WATCHDOG Websense is warning world wide webbers to watch
out for tricksy Halloween related ScareWare.
Several websites have been created all in
the name of ruining someone's Halloween, says Websense. The
sites are easily found through search engines and can be reached
with the old typo trick, so be careful not to Google for
"Hallowien". You're probably safe with hair metal band Helloween,
however.
The dodgy sites in question are advertising Halloween related goods
or knowledge in their headers but contain something far spookier,
spyware.
Coupled with a new Windows attack that is
capable of murdering your firewall, it could make for a
nasty Samhain indeed.
The code for the new Windows attack, reports NetworkWorld, was
published online early last Sunday.
The attack can sneak into certain
XP machines and fully disable Windows Firewall, even on a
completely patched copy of WinDoze. It would seem
the weakness is in the Windows' Internet Connection Service, or
ICS, a program built for setting up a local area network.
If you're running ICS, it's recommended by security braniacs that
you disable it, though this will kill your connection. Third party
firewalls, as always, are recommended. ยต
