Here are two keys words for Microsoft Windows shops to remember come this Patch Tuesday: “six” and “restart.” Six is the number of a critical bulletins Microsoft will release on February 9 that affect all the currently supported versions of Windows on both the desktop and server. And a system restart will be required for these Windows patches, which will mean down time for servers. In fact, 10 of the record-tying 13 bulletins require a restart. In all, five are listed as critical, seven important and one moderate. Microsoft getting better at Patch Tuesday updates, experts say The last time Microsoft had so many bulletins was in October 2009. In the preliminary patch information issued Thursday, Microsoft does not say how many total vulnerabilities are in those 13 bulletins. In October, the number was 34. Experts say on average there are two vulnerabilities per bulletin. “Bulletin six is definitely key, we can see that both server teams and desktop teams are going to be impacted,” says Don Leatham, senior director of solutions and strategy for Lumension. Leatham says IT teams should look at their maintenance windows and see how and when they can get these critical patches out. “With bulletin six it might be worthwhile to move up the maintenance window if need be,” he says. Many organizations with patching policies time server maintenance with patch releases. Leatham says users should not wait to scramble on Tuesday but instead should start prepping as soon as possible. “Usually when there have been bulletins like this in the past that cover every single Windows platform it means it could be fairly low level in the OS,” he says. This month, the other trend is that there are fewer patches on the applications side. Only two patches address applications and both are for Microsoft Office. Microsoft had a single patch last month, which was in the font engine of Windows. Follow John on Twitter: twitter.com/johnfontana
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Microsoft plans to release the final version of its free antivirus software soon, according to a note sent to testers late Sunday.
“The final version of Microsoft Security Essentials will be released to the public in the coming weeks,” Microsoft said in the note.
Microsoft first announced its plans for the product, then code-named Morro, last November, at the same time the company said it was scrapping its paid Windows Live OneCare product.
Public beta testing of Security Essentials started in June, with Microsoft reaching its goal of 75,000 testers just one day after it issued a call for them.
Ineptitude and arrogance cause most PC problems, but vicious software designed to trick you, steal from you, and use your computer to hurt other people do the worst damage. After all, bugs aren’t designed to protect themselves, but “viruses” are.
(Why did I just put the word viruses in quotation marks? Anything that infects your PC today is almost certainly not, technically, a virus. But the word has become a common term for any malicious software, whether it spreads like a virus or not. See Is It a Virus? for details.)
What are some of the signs that you may have an infection?
* Your home page keeps changing, or web searches keep taking you to the wrong page.
* Software that should protect you, like your anti-virus program, can’t update or no longer works properly.
* Common programs you can use to configure your system, such as msconfig or System Restore, stop working.
* Your computer accesses the Internet a lot when you’re not using the Internet.
* Your security software tells you that you have an infection, but can’t get rid of it.
If you think you have an infection, try the following four fixes, in this order. And use them all, even if the second one solves the problem.
1) Accept that your anti-virus program has failed. Don’t be too hard on it; you just had the misfortune to get the malware before the update that would have protected you from it. But until everything else is fixed, your current software probably isn’t working.
2) Restore the system. Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Restore. Follow the prompts to restore from a time before you starting having the problem. If you don’t have a restore point that old, go on to step 2. If System Restore fails to work, reboot into Safe Mode (reboot, then press F8 before Windows starts loading (it may take a few tries to get the timing right) and try System Restore there.
3) Get a second opinion from another security program. I recommend the free version of either SUPERAntiSpyware or Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware. Download the program, install it, and have it scan your hard drive and eliminate what it finds.
4) Get a third opinion. Repeat with the other of those two programs.
If you’re not satisfied that you’re now clean, download and install another free program: Trend Micro’s HijackThis. This one doesn’t actually fix anything, but it gives you a very thorough, and for most people, thoroughly unreadable report. But someone who knows what they’re doing can study this report and figure out what your problem is and what you can do about it.
Oh, the deck is stacked. Don’t think for a minute it’s not. As a technology professional responsible for securing office networks, workstations, and servers from viruses, spyware, adware, Trojans, and other malware infections, I can tell you that the situation is only getting worse.
A Computer Economics report showed that annual worldwide malware expenses increased by $10 billion (to $13 billion) over a recent 10-year span. Google Research suggests that one in every 10 Web sites is infected with “drive-by” malware. In June 2009, the Windows Secrets e-newsletter reported that such seemingly safe Web sites as Coldwell Banker.com, Variety.com, and even Tennis.com were exposing Internet Explorer visitors to the Gumblar exploit, which threatens to compromise visitors’ systems in order to propagate.
IT professionals must encourage their users to follow several security practices to minimize virus, spyware, and malware exposure. But many computer techs are too busy to spread the word, or they don’t have the time to build an appropriate memo or handout.
With that in mind, here’s a handy reference list of 10 steps end users can adopt to avoid infection (including when using home systems to read and send work e-mail, create, edit, and distribute documents and spreadsheets, access the corporate VPN, and perform other office tasks). Post this list on your Intranet, distribute it in an e-mail, or download the PDF version and pass it along to end users. Just be sure the word gets out. Otherwise, you’re likely to find yourself losing precious time cleaning and repairing infected systems or entire networks.
1: Install quality antivirus
Many computer users believe free antivirus applications, such as those included with an Internet service provider’s bundled service offering, are sufficient to protect a computer from virus or spyware infection. However, such free anti-malware programs typically don’t provide adequate protection from the ever-growing list of threats.
Instead, all Windows users should install professional, business-grade antivirus software on their PCs. Pro-grade antivirus programs update more frequently throughout the day (thereby providing timely protection against fast-emerging vulnerabilities), protect against a wider range of threats (such as rootkits), and enable additional protective features (such as custom scans).
2: Install real-time anti-spyware protection
Many computer users mistakenly believe that a single antivirus program with integrated spyware protection provides sufficient safeguards from adware and spyware. Others think free anti-spyware applications, combined with an antivirus utility, deliver capable protection from the skyrocketing number of spyware threats.
Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. Most free anti-spyware programs do not provide real-time, or active, protection from adware, Trojan, and other spyware infections. While many free programs can detect spyware threats once they’ve infected a system, typically professional (or fully paid and licensed) anti-spyware programs are required to prevent infections and fully remove those infections already present.
3: Keep anti-malware applications current
Antivirus and anti-spyware programs require regular signature and database updates. Without these critical updates, anti-malware programs are unable to protect PCs from the latest threats.
In early 2009, antivirus provider AVG released statistics revealing that a lot of serious computer threats are secretive and fast-moving. Many of these infections are short-lived, but they’re estimated to infect as many as 100,000 to 300,000 new Web sites a day.
Computer users must keep their antivirus and anti-spyware applications up to date. All Windows users must take measures to prevent license expiration, thereby ensuring that their anti-malware programs stay current and continue providing protection against the most recent threats. Those threats now spread with alarming speed, thanks to the popularity of such social media sites as Twitter, Facebook, and My Space.
4: Perform daily scans
Occasionally, virus and spyware threats escape a system’s active protective engines and infect a system. The sheer number and volume of potential and new threats make it inevitable that particularly inventive infections will outsmart security software. In other cases, users may inadvertently instruct anti-malware software to allow a virus or spyware program to run.
Regardless of the infection source, enabling complete, daily scans of a system’s entire hard drive adds another layer of protection. These daily scans can be invaluable in detecting, isolating, and removing infections that initially escape security software’s attention.
5: Disable autorun
Many viruses work by attaching themselves to a drive and automatically installing themselves on any other media connected to the system. As a result, connecting any network drives, external hard disks, or even thumb drives to a system can result in the automatic propagation of such threats.
Computer users can disable the Windows autorun feature by following Microsoft’s recommendations, which differ by operating system. Microsoft Knowledge Base articles 967715 and 967940 are frequently referenced for this purpose.
6: Disable image previews in Outlook
Simply receiving an infected Outlook e-mail message, one in which graphics code is used to enable the virus’ execution, can result in a virus infection. Prevent against automatic infection by disabling image previews in Outlook.
By default, newer versions of Microsoft Outlook do not automatically display images. But if you or another user has changed the default security settings, you can switch them back (using Outlook 2007) by going to Tools | Trust Center, highlighting the Automatic Download option, and selecting Don’t Download Pictures Automatically In HTML E-Mail Messages Or RSS.
7: Don’t click on email links or attachments
It’s a mantra most every Windows user has heard repeatedly: Don’t click on email links or attachments. Yet users frequently fail to heed the warning.
Whether distracted, trustful of friends or colleagues they know, or simply fooled by a crafty email message, many users forget to be wary of links and attachments included within email messages, regardless of the source. Simply clicking on an email link or attachment can, within minutes, corrupt Windows, infect other machines, and destroy critical data.
Users should never click on email attachments without at least first scanning them for viruses using a business-class anti-malware application. As for clicking on links, users should access Web sites by opening a browser and manually navigating to the sites in question.
8: Surf smart
Many business-class anti-malware applications include browser plug-ins that help protect against drive-by infections, phishing attacks (in which pages purport to serve one function when in fact they try to steal personal, financial, or other sensitive information), and similar exploits. Still others provide “link protection,” in which Web links are checked against databases of known-bad pages.
Whenever possible, these preventive features should be deployed and enabled. Unless the plug-ins interfere with normal Web browsing, users should leave them enabled. The same is true for automatic pop-up blockers, such as are included in Internet Explorer 8, Google’s toolbar, and other popular browser toolbars.
Regardless, users should never enter user account, personal, financial, or other sensitive information on any Web page at which they haven’t manually arrived. They should instead open a Web browser, enter the address of the page they need to reach, and enter their information that way, instead of clicking on a hyperlink and assuming the link has directed them to the proper URL. Hyperlinks contained within an e-mail message often redirect users to fraudulent, fake, or unauthorized Web sites. By entering Web addresses manually, users can help ensure that they arrive at the actual page they intend.
But even manual entry isn’t foolproof. Hence the justification for step 10: Deploy DNS protection. More on that in a moment.
9: Use a hardware-based firewall
Technology professionals and others argue the benefits of software- versus hardware-based firewalls. Often, users encounter trouble trying to share printers, access network resources, and perform other tasks when deploying third-party software-based firewalls. As a result, I’ve seen many cases where firewalls have simply been disabled altogether.
But a reliable firewall is indispensable, as it protects computers from a wide variety of exploits, malicious network traffic, viruses, worms, and other vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, by itself, the software-based firewall included with Windows isn’t sufficient to protect systems from the myriad robotic attacks affecting all Internet-connected systems. For this reason, all PCs connected to the Internet should be secured behind a capable hardware-based firewall.
10: Deploy DNS protection
Internet access introduces a wide variety of security risks. Among the most disconcerting may be drive-by infections, in which users only need to visit a compromised Web page to infect their own PCs (and potentially begin infecting those of customers, colleagues, and other staff).
Another worry is Web sites that distribute infected programs, applications, and Trojan files. Still another threat exists in the form of poisoned DNS attacks, whereby a compromised DNS server directs you to an unauthorized Web server. These compromised DNS servers are typically your ISP’s systems, which usually translate friendly URLs such as yahoo.com to numeric IP addresses like 69.147.114.224.
Users can protect themselves from all these threats by changing the way their computers process DNS services. While a computer professional may be required to implement the switch, OpenDNS offers free DNS services to protect users against common phishing, spyware, and other Web-based hazards.
Windows XP/Vista store the DNS information of Web sites you’ve visited, to reach those sites faster each time you access them. The cache sometimes gets corrupted or stores a lot of unusable data, and that leads to slower Internet response times. To clear the cache, go to the command prompt and type ipconfig /flushdns. The command purges the DNS cache and restores your Internet access speed.
I’m kind of a spelling snob. I take pains to make sure I spell everything correctly, so it bugs me a little bit when I receive mail that contains spelling mistakes.
Well, okay, I cheat a little: I use Outlook 2007’s spell-checker to give my outbound mail the once-over before sending. You can do likewise, without having to remember to click the Spelling button every time, by tweaking Outlook’s checker. Here’s how:
1. Click Tools, Options.
2. Click the Spelling tab.
3. Tick the box marked Always check spelling before sending.
4. Click OK.
That’s it! Now, when you click Send, Outlook’s spell-checker will immediately appear, giving you a chance to fix those “Hey, Rick, you are so stoopid” kinds of mistakes.
Of course, by default, Outlook uses squiggly red lines to indicate misspellings as you type, but I know many folks who prefer to just bang away at the keys and then fix the mistakes at the end. Me, I don’t make speling mistakes, so I don’t really need either feature.
No reader question, this time. Just a rant.
We all hate Windows Genuine Advantage. Not only is it a hassle that might accuse you of stealing something you legitimately bought, but its very name adds insult to annoyance. It’s obviously an advantage to no one but Microsoft.
But with a simple change in policy, the folks in Redmond could use it to eliminate a far more serious problem: The difficulty in obtaining an actual copy of Windows to go with your legally-purchased license.
If Windows came with your computer, you probably have no way to restore it beyond a complete reformat. If you lost the restore discs that came with your PC, or altered your partition table and thereby rendered your restore partition unbootable, you can’t even do that. And you almost certainly don’t have the options and utilities that come with a genuine Windows CD or DVD.
And why not? Because Microsoft acts as if giving away Windows discs is the same as giving away licenses to run Windows. And yet the company must know that’s not true. Otherwise, Microsoft wouldn’t make you go through the activation process, or keep hitting you with Windows Genuine Annoyances. It’s the product key–that long number you have to enter when you install Windows–that defines and proves your purchase of the operating system.
So why can’t Microsoft simply give the disc away. Make it downloadable as an .iso file. Charge $5 to mail a physical disc to those who don’t like long downloads. Make it known that anyone can give the disc to anyone else.
I’m not suggesting that Microsoft give away Windows. You’d still need a unique product key to activate it, and you would get that project key either by paying Microsoft or buying a PC with Windows pre-installed (all such computers already come with a product key sticker). Or you’d already have the product key, but still need a product to install.
This could work just fine with XP, Vista, and (when it ships) Windows 7. Microsoft doesn’t even have to keep selling XP to freely give away the discs; I know plenty of people who “own” XP but need a way to install it.
A great many commercial programs, perhaps a majority of them, are now sold this way. You download the program, install it, try a limited version, then pay for a key that will unlock the full version. They used to call this shareware or demoware. Now its just the way software is sold.
Microsoft: Are you listening?