BubbleBoy!
Howdy, y'all, and welcome aboard a quick, bonus TOURBUS post. Why a
bonus post? Well, Reuters is reporting that
Researchers have discovered what they believe to be the first e-
mail-borne computer infection that doesn't require a user to open
an e-mail or e-mail attachment for it to wreak havoc.
Dubbed "Bubbleboy" after an episode of TV sitcom "Seinfeld," the
virus is known as a worm because it is self-propagating ...
"Historically, as long as you don't open e-mail attachments
you're safe from virus infection, but this changes all that,"
said Sal Viveros, a marketing manager at Network Associates.
Yadda yadda yadda. Ignore the hysteria, folks -- here is what is
*REALLY* going on. There is a significant security hole in Microsoft
Windows 98 (and later versions of 95) that could conceivably give some
nefarious netizen the ability to do ANYTHING to your computer -- like
erase your files, format your hard drive, and so on. Because
Microsoft's products are so closely integrated, this security hole
affects anyone who uses Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 or 5 ... and,
from what I can gather, it also affects anyone who uses Microsoft
Outlook or Outlook Express.
"Bubbleboy" takes advantage of this well-known security hole.
Now for the good news: Microsoft released a software patch that fixed
this hole way back on August 31st! As long as you install the patch,
you have nothing to worry about. Bubbleboy will NOT get you!
You can download the patch directly from Microsoft at
<A HREF="http://www.microsoft.com/security/Bulletins/ms99-032.asp">
http://www.microsoft.com/security/Bulletins/ms99-032.asp </A>
What about Reuters' warning that "[r]esearchers have discovered what
they believe to be the first e-mail-borne computer infection that
doesn't require a user to open an e-mail or e-mail attachment for it
to wreak havoc?" Should you panic? Of course not. This too shall
pass. Take a deep breath, and then download and install the security
patch. Problem solved. :)
<http://www.TOURBUS.com>
janet paterson
52 now / 41 dx / 37 onset
e-mail - [log in to unmask]
web-site - http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Village/6263/
