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Pastimes : Computer Learning -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gottfried who wrote (6774)	11/12/1999 12:33:00 AM
From: George Papadopoulos	Respond to of 110626

Tourbus newsletter on bubbleboy......."Shut the damn door!" PC's Take on Bubbleboy ---------------------- Most people who know me well know that I think in analogies. Maybe that's one reason why it took me eleven years to get my economics degree (I had a HECK of a time thinking of an analogy for sterilized central bank intervention in the FX market). :P Anyway, here is my analogy for the recent Bubbleboy virus scare. Imagine if the media discovered that millions of people around the world were leaving the doors to their houses wide open. The media would absolutely PANIC. TV reporters and newspaper journalists would breathlessly warn you that YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE IN GRAVE DANGER! Because of open doors, thieves can enter your house and steal all your possessions right from under your nose! Gypsies can enter your home through these same open doors and steal your children in the middle of the night! And don't forget about the killer bees! For years we have told you that you only have to worry about killer bee attacks when you are outside, but this changes EVERYTHING! Killer bees can be swarming down your street, see your open door, swarm into your bedroom, and turn you and your loved ones into human pin cushions! No one's bedroom is safe!! OH THE HUMANITY!!!! It is a shame that the media did not grow up in MY house, because they could have learned a lot from my father. My dad, the Rev. Bob "Bob" Crispen, taught me a great many things, but there was one piece of advice he shared with me over and over again. That advice changed my life forever. You ready for this? Here ya' go: SHUT THE DAMNED DOOR!! What does this have to do with the Bubbleboy worm? Well, there is an inadvertent 'open door' in the Windows operating system that COULD conceivably make your computer vulnerable to outside attack. In specific, a mean spirited hacker COULD 'walk through' this open door on your Windows PC and read any file on your computer, delete specific files or programs, or even completely erase your hard drive. Bubbleboy is the first virus [actually it is a worm] that takes advantage of this open door. The important thing to remember is that like our mythical bedroom- inhabiting killer bees, Bubbleboy really ISN'T the problem. The problem is the open door! Close the open door to your house and you won't have to worry about killer bees in your bedroom; close the open door in Windows and you won't have to worry about Bubbleboy (or its ilk) causing damage to your computer. [It is amazing that the media doesn't seem to understand this.] As I mentioned in my last TOURBUS post, Microsoft released a software patch in late August that closes this open door in Windows. The patch is called "Update for Security Vulnerabilities in 'Scriptlet.typlib' and 'Eyedog' ActiveX Controls," and you can download it from Microsoft by either running Windows Update -- step-by-step instructions on how to do this can be found in my last TOURBUS post at listserv.aol.com -- or by downloading the patch directly from Microsoft at <A HREF="http://www.microsoft.com/security/Bulletins/ms99-032.asp"> microsoft.com </A>. ---------------------------------------------- Who is affected by this so-called 'Open Door?' ---------------------------------------------- Technically, this open door affects everyone who uses Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.X or 5.X on a PC. However, since Internet Explorer is so closely integrated into the Windows operating system, the truth is that EVERYONE who uses Windows 98 or 2000 is affected, even if you don't ever use Internet Explorer. ---------------------------------------------------- Does this 'Open Door' affect Windows 95 or NT users? ---------------------------------------------------- I think so, but I honestly don't know. From what I can gather from Microsoft, it does. [That download page I mentioned a few moments ago offers patches for "Microsoft Windows 95 and 98" as well as "Microsoft Windows NT."]. --------------------------------------- Does this 'Open Door' affect Mac users? --------------------------------------- Nope. This open door is in the Windows operating system, so it only affects Windows users. [Chalk one up for 'thinking differently!'] --------------------------------------------------------------------- I read in the media that Bubbleboy only affects Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express! I don't use Outlook or Outlook express. Is my system safe? --------------------------------------------------------------------- NO! Remember, the problem isn't the bees in the bedroom (Bubbleboy) it is the open door that let the bees into the bedroom in the first place (the "open door" in Windows). Bubbleboy is a worm that uses Outlook or Outlook express to walk through the open door in Windows and to conceivably do bad things to your system. Even if you don't use Outlook or Outlook express, you still remain vulnerable because the door remains open. Bubbleboy may not get you, but the next worm might. The ONLY way to protect yourself from both Bubbleboy and future attacks is to CLOSE THE DOOR by downloading and installing the software patch from Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------------ I use Microsoft Outlook on a Mac. Should I worry about Bubbleboy? ------------------------------------------------------------------ Nope. Bubbleboy takes advantage of an open door in Windows. Since Macs don't have this open door, Bubbleboy poses no threat to your Mac. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Do I really have to download and install this software patch? Can't I just update my virus definitions instead? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You really have to download and install the software patch. Updating your virus definitions may protect you from Bubbleboy, but it will do nothing about the open door in Windows. To protect yourself from the open door, you're going to have to close it by downloading and installing the software patch from Microsoft. -------------------------------------------------------------------- I Ran Windows Update, But I Didn't See The "Update for Security Vulnerabilities in 'Scriptlet.typlib' and 'Eyedog' ActiveX Controls" File In The Critical Updates! What Should I Do? -------------------------------------------------------------------- Run Windows Update again. Once you get to the "Select Software" page, click on the "Installation History" button at the top of the screen. When the history finally loads, look for Update for Security Vulnerabilities in "Scriptlet.typlib" and "Eyedog" ActiveX Controls (version 5,0,2720,2700) was successfully installed. If you see that somewhere on the page, you have already installed the security patch. If you don't see that, keep reading ... --------------------------------------------------------------------- I Tried to Run Windows Update, But It Didn't Work! What Should I Do? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Download the security patch directly from Microsoft at <A HREF="http://www.microsoft.com/security/Bulletins/ms99-032.asp"> microsoft.com </A>. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Killer bees in the bedroom? Patrick, you REALLY need to get out more! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You're telling me?! :P To sum up, don't worry about Bubbleboy ... worry about the open door! If you download the software patch from Microsoft, you will protect yourself from Bubbleboy and its progeny. [Bubbleboy is rather innocuous -- it doesn't really do any terrible damage to your computer. New strains of Bubbleboy may not be so kind. Until you close the open door in Windows, you'll be vulnerable.] I hope this helped. :) TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S): PC's Take On Bubbleboy TODAY'S TOURBUS ADDRESS(ES): microsoft.com