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posted by Fnord666 on Thursday May 16 2019, @12:57PM   Printer-friendly
from the makes-me-wanna-cry dept.

Microsoft has issued a critical Windows update to older machines to prevent a vulnerability which could allow attacks to spread in a similar way to WannaCry.

The computing giant has taken the drastic and unusual step of providing a fix to systems it no longer supports, including Windows XP – its popular operating system released almost 18 years ago.

Microsoft says the vulnerability affects a part of the Remote Desktop Services feature on some previous versions of Windows, which could allow devastating malware attacks to pass from vulnerable computer to vulnerable computer, as WannaCry did.

WannaCry notably hit parts of the NHS in May 2017, disrupting 80 trusts across England alone because they were either infected by the ransomware or had turned off their devices or systems as a precaution.

[Update: The official Microsoft announcement should have been included in the story. Please be aware this warning applies only to older version of Windows; Windows 8 and 10 are not affected. (Hat tip to user "All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us") --martyb]

Source: https://techerati.com/news-hub/microsoft-issues-urgent-windows-xp-patch-to-prevent-wannacry-style-attack/


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  • (Score: 2) by lentilla on Friday May 17 2019, @05:44AM

    by lentilla (1770) on Friday May 17 2019, @05:44AM (#844623)

    Honest to goodness, which part about "the product is no longer supported" is so hard for people to understand? Anyone who is running XP and is not air-gapped, WiFi physically removed and the ethernet port filled with hot glue is a right and proper fool.

    Yes, I realise the boss wants it connected to the network because it's "business critical" but we have been telling "the boss" for over twenty years now that running anything business critical on Microsoft systems carries a non-insignificant business risk.

    I realise there are curmudgeonly types that are busy saying "XP and IE6 worked fine for me and there is no reason to upgrade" and they would be wrong. Very wrong. The software may be expected to do the same tasks but the environment is vastly different. To expect to use antique software on a modern network is like expecting that your toddler will be A-OK after spending Friday night in a biker bar instead of daycare.

    Frankly, this is an excellent example where you let the systems get pawned and then say "I told you so".

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