Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 06:17 pm Post subject: More Microsoft operating system vulnerabilities revealed
Quote:
Windows DNS bug fix can impair firewalls, including ZoneAlarm
By Scott M. Fulton, III, BetaNews
July 9, 2008, 11:50 AM
BetaNews has confirmed through its own testing this morning that a critical patch, released yesterday by Microsoft as part of a worldwide DNS bug fix effort, can and does impact the functionality of software firewalls.
Multiple reports from users since yesterday afternoon have complained of systems incapable of contacting the Internet after having implemented patch KB951748. This patch makes a major change to the way the operating system handles DNS requests. Specifically, it implements a system that enables source port randomization -- a way to scramble the address from which a request is placed -- as a security measure to thwart malicious users from being able to craft false DNS responses, and thus "poison" the caches of DNS servers.
It is a very serious fix to what could have been a catastrophic exploit, and it's being implemented not just on Windows but on Linux, and within routers and other network equipment as well. It's a major cooperative effort, but one side effect for now, due to an apparent lack of cooperation among software vendors, is that some software firewalls may need to be disabled, throttled back, or turned off altogether while a fix is under way.
Happily I now use Ubuntu and not Microsoft for my work computer. No firewall needed, no virus software needed. It just works, and it works faster than XP. It's free and I will never have to pay for software again, ever.
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