Microsoft

And you thought conficker was dead

The conficker worm that infected millions of computers starting last October was believed to be at bay. Not so according to Vincent Weafer, vice president of Symantec’s security response group.

Computers infected with this worm are being updated with a stronger variant. The variant is designed to sidestep security measures attempting to cut the connection between infected machines and it’s hacker controllers. An estimated 20 technology companies, including Microsoft, have joined together to try and counter the stronger variant.

They are attempting to stop the worm by pre-registering domains that they believe the worm will use. According to Symantec and others in the group the worm can register up to 50,000 domain names a day. The domains are used to band together the infected computers and route the worm to other computers for infection.

The new worm is also better at resisting eradication. “It’s turning off a variety of security services,” Weafer said, as well as tools often used by security companies to dig into malware.

Weafer also believe that the number of infected computers has peaked. “The number of infected machines is constantly dropping, so we’re dealing with a much smaller pool [of devices] that are potentially getting this update,” Weafer said.

There is bright side to all of this. Linux users don’t have to worry about this. We don’t need to download Microsoft’s patch to fix our machines. What is really glaring is that so far as I know there are no open source companies joined to the group to protect the Windows computer. Maybe they should consult with them and teach them how to write software that is not so susceptible to attacks like this.

This whole thing started because of a security vulnerability in the Microsoft OS. When are Microsoft users and companies going to wake up and realize how expensive it is to continue using this brain dead OS? FWIW my definition of brain dead is an OS that has users, administrators and anyone else who uses the machine pointing and clicking to set up the OS and not knowing what they just did. No wonder that OS gets attacked so much.

If you have a Microsoft machine that is infected what you need is the MS08-067 security update. You’ll have to look it up yourself - I have no need for it. You can read more about this fiasco here.

I’ll stick with my Linux and Open Source software thank you very much.

-j

Red Hat and Microsoft enter virtualization support agreement

Red Hat and Microsoft have entered into a virtualization agreement. The agreement is designed so that Red Hat and Microsoft customers using virtualization from both companies can get support from either group.

Red Hat and Microsoft both emphasize that this agreement is not the same as the agreement that Microsoft has with Novell. That agreement covers such things as intellectual property, code indemnification and licensing.

Red Hat and Microsoft still very much remain competing platform vendors. Red Hat’s GM of virtualization Mike Neil emphasizes that “these agreements do not include any patent or other IP licensing rights.” The agreement with Novell is more of a partnership agreement where Microsoft gives it’s customers coupons to purchase SuSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell.

Red Hat and Microsoft will enter into each other’s validation phases for their respective virtualization technologies. The results of these tests will be posted throughout the year on the Red Hat and Microsoft websites.

With the base of heterogenous hosts and virtual guests I suspect this is not the only agreement like this that we will see.

-j

Russia and Cuba kick out Microsoft in favor of Open Source Software

In a recent article that I ran across the two Governments have decided that Open Source is what they should be using instead of Microsoft. They stated the normal reasons that we usually hear when a government makes this decision. Primarily it has to do with economics and the introduction of Open Source Software into their fiscal institutions, schools and government institutions.

To use their words a move like this

Alexei Smirnov said that the distribution of free software as in Cuba, and Russia is a strategic priority related to the sovereignty of countries

Like I said this sounds like pretty much the same reasons that we hear from other governments making this move.

What really bothered me though were some of the comments that were made regarding this article and Russia’s and Cuba’s decision.

OMG and this is supposed to be a “good thing”, sure russia and cuba, socialist/communist regemes, uses assinations, fear and extortion, and are very against the American way of life,

but becuase they are using linux, and supposedly again Microsoft, you know that company that employes thousands of Americans and western people all over the world.

that makes this kind of thing good.

So you would not mind if Linux was used in russian cruse missiles pointed at the US, as long as they accepted the GPLv2. ??

you guys are a freaking joke,

and

You’re absolutely right: torture, imprisonment without trial, illegal “disappearances” and a cynical disregard for international norms like the Geneva Convention are completely unacceptable, whatever the operating system.

Really now. How long has it been since Russia has been a serious threat to the US or any other country? From where I sit they get involved in the same political battles of right and wrong that we do. Their Nuclear Missiles have long been destroyed.

An speaking of supporting countries that have countless human rights violations what about China and the Olympics. Did you watch them or boycott them in favor of your idealism?

IMHO Russia and other countries are beginning to grasp the realities and advantages of the freedom of people to think and do and starting to reap the benefits of it for their own countries. Russia even acknowledged Alexei Smirnov, CEO of ALT Linux, as leader in bringing this movement to bear. If you didn’t know ALT Linux is developed in Russia.

The negative statements made above are from non thinking people who are going to find fault with anything and everything. That is their right as people living in a free country or countries. It is also the right of Russia, which is a country that is working towards freedom, to decide to build and deploy Open Source Software in their institutions and schools.

j-