Steve Gibson, well-known security expert, has taken a closer look at the recent Windows MetaFile (WMF) vulnerability that has since been fixed by Microsoft. Expecting to find another Microsoft “coding error” he instead found something that seemed to be deliberately designed into Windows. Given the nature of what it is, this would make it a remote code execution “backdoor”. In the Security Now! podcasts he says several times that this was no coding mistake or bug but rather an intentional feature of Windows. So maybe some of those “Microsoft is evil” folks out there were right because if this is true, Microsoft has had a way to remotely execute arbitrary code in your machine without your knowledge.
All posts tagged Security
The Windows MetaFile Backdoor?
Steve Gibson, well-known
WMF Exploit Fix
Turns out that there’s been a pretty gross exploit discovered in all versions of Windows that allows a corrupted image file to run arbitraty code on the user’s system. In other words, that nude picture of Jessica Alba may be deleting your harddrive and charging tattoos to your credit card! See the link below for a fix.
Security Now! Notes for Episode #20
It would seem that we can be pretty certain that Microsoft will have this WMF vulnerability mess cleaned up shortly. Microsoft’s cryptographically signed and authentic (though perhaps not final), security update addressing this vulnerability has prematurely leaked onto the Internet.As expected, Ilfak’s WMF vulnerability suppression patch, and his WMF vulnerability testing utility, both interact smoothly and seamlessly with Microsoft’s forthcoming official security update. Ilfak’s code can be left running while installing Microsoft’s security update, then safely removed forever once the system has rebooted from the update.
Also, Ilfak’s vulnerability tester properly recognizes the system’s true WMF vulnerability condition under every combination of patch installations (either Ilfak’s, Microsoft’s, both, or neither). So, you may use Ilfak’s solutions with confidence while Microsoft completes their extensive compatibility and regression testing for this forthcoming security update. Once the update is ready, install Microsoft’s update, then safely remove Ilfak’s patcher.
WMF Exploit Fix
Turns out that there’s been a pretty gross exploit discovered in all versions of Windows that allows a corrupted image file to run arbitraty code on the user’s system. In other words, that nude picture of Jessica Alba may be deleting your harddrive and charging tattoos to your credit card! See the link below for a fix.
Security Now! Notes for Episode #20
It would seem that we can be pretty certain thatMicrosoft will have this WMF vulnerability mess cleaned up shortly. Microsoft’s cryptographically signed and authentic (though perhaps not final), security update addressing this vulnerability has prematurely leaked onto the Internet.As expected, Ilfak’s WMF vulnerability suppression patch, and his WMF vulnerability testing utility, both interact smoothly and seamlessly with Microsoft’s forthcoming official security update. Ilfak’s code can be left running while installing Microsoft’s security update, then safely removed forever once the system has rebooted from the update.
Also, Ilfak’s vulnerability tester properly recognizes the system’s true WMF vulnerability condition under every combination of patch installations (either Ilfak’s, Microsoft’s, both, or neither). So, you may use Ilfak’s solutions with confidence while Microsoft completes their extensive compatibility and regression testing for this forthcoming security update. Once the update is ready, install Microsoft’s update, then safely remove Ilfak’s patcher.
Terrorists clone phones
Canadian telecom service provider Rogers Communications has been the victim of numerous number-cloning operations by the terrorist group Hezbollah — in which even the phone number of CEO Ted Rogers was “borrowed� — but steadfastly refused to address consumer complaints about the problem, insisting that customers were liable for outsized bills. However, all that changed after aggrieved consumer (and law professor) Susan Drummond — who was stuck with a bill for over $10,000 for calls to countries such as Libya, Pakistan, Russia and Syria — recorded comments made by a Rogers security exec, who admitted that the company had suffered cloning problems at the hands of Hezbollah going back as far as 1997. Drummond took the company to small-claims court, publicized the incident, and eventually received a public apology from CEO Rogers himself. At least we think it was Rogers. After all, it could have been Sheik Hassan Nasrallah running up the CEO’s bill one more time.cellphone
More.
Terrorists clone phones
Canadian telecom service provider Rogers Communications has been the victim of numerous number-cloning operations by the terrorist group Hezbollah — in which even the phone number of CEO Ted Rogers was “borrowed� — but steadfastly refused to address consumer complaints about the problem, insisting that customers were liable for outsized bills. However, all that changed after aggrieved consumer (and law professor) Susan Drummond — who was stuck with a bill for over $10,000 for calls to countries such as Libya, Pakistan, Russia and Syria — recorded comments made by a Rogers security exec, who admitted that the company had suffered cloning problems at the hands of Hezbollah going back as far as 1997. Drummond took the company to small-claims court, publicized the incident, and eventually received a public apology from CEO Rogers himself. At least we think it was Rogers. After all, it could have been Sheik Hassan Nasrallah running up the CEO’s bill one more time.
cellphone
More.
