Originally published February 8 2006
Microsoft releases patch for flaw in Windows
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The patch was released earlier than expected because of "very strong customer sentiment" and an early end to testing. Despite hacking concerns, there were no known reports of widespread attacks on corporate systems.
Citing "very strong customer sentiment" and an earlier-than-expected wrap-up of testing work, Microsoft Corp. last week released a patch for a flaw in a Windows image-processing module after initially saying the fix wouldn't be issued until tomorrow.
Microsoft's reversal of course on Thursday came as malicious hackers ratcheted up their attempts to exploit the flaw and IT managers and security analysts differed on whether corporate users should install an unofficial third-party fix or wait for the software vendor's patch.
Some IT executives interviewed by Computerworld said that before Microsoft issued the patch, they were in a quandary over how best to protect their systems against the Windows Metafile flaw.
Waiting until this week for Microsoft's patch could have exposed the Mountain View, Calif.-based law firm's systems to exploits targeting the WMF vulnerability, Kesner said.
Fenwick & West's IT staffers were unsure whether the work-around procedures initially suggested by Microsoft would have provided sufficient protection, he said.
After hearing of the software vendor's change in plans, Kesner said he was "very excited and glad that Microsoft broke its usual schedule" of releasing patches on the second Tuesday of each month.
Dave Jordan, chief information security officer for Virginia's Arlington County, said Thursday afternoon that staffers there had already started testing different versions of Microsoft's patch and planned to deploy them as quickly as possible.
Attackers could use the vulnerability to run malicious code on vulnerable machines, steal data from infected systems and turn the computers into zombies for relaying spam and other malware, according to advisories from Microsoft and security researchers.
There were no known reports of widespread attacks on corporate systems, and Microsoft listed 11 security vendors that claimed their antivirus tools could protect users from attempts to exploit the flaw.
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