Ten Windows XP SP2 flaws leave XP users open to hackers

[XMEN Iceman]

World Media Digest<br>Ten SP2 flaws leave XP users open to hackers<br>Robert Jaques, 11.11.04, 3:30 PM ET<br><br>VNUNet.com<br><br>Security researchers claimed today that millions of Microsoft<br>customers are at risk from 10 serious security vulnerabilities<br>uncovered in Windows XP patched with Service Pack 2 (SP2).<br><br>By exploiting all the vulnerabilities discovered in SP2 by security firm Finjan, attackers could "silently and remotely" take over an SP2 machine when the user simply browses a web page.<br><br>Finjan claimed that hackers could also switch between Internet Explorer security zones to obtain rights of local zone Internet Explorer users.<br><br>This could make it possible to elevate the privilege level of mobile code downloaded from the internet, thereby allowing the remote code to read, write and execute files on the user's hard drive.<br><br>According to Finjan, hackers could also bypass XP SP2's notification mechanism on the download and execution of .exe files, and therefore download files without any warning or notification.<br><br>Finjan's Malicious Code Research Center, which claims to have<br>identified the flaws, has provided Microsoft with full technical<br>details and has been assisting the software giant to patch the holes.<br><br>Although it warned users about the alleged flaws, the security firm refused to provide specific details.<br><br>"In order to prevent the creation of malicious viruses and worms, Finjan will not release any technical details about these vulnerabilities until they are fully patched by Microsoft," it stated.<br><br>Shlomo Touboul, chief executive and founder of Finjan Software, added: "The recently released XP SP2 operating system offers certain security features.<br><br>"However, it suffers because it is still basically the same operating system and has some major flaws which compromise end-user security."<br><br>To see more of VNUNet go to <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.vnunet.com">www.vnunet.com</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br> <p><table border=0><tr><td><embed align=left src=http://www.thzclan.com/avatars/ezice.swf menu=false quality=high bgcolor=#000000 width=217 height=166 type=application/x-shockwave-flash pluginspage=http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/dow ... <td><table border=0 style='Filter: Shadow(Color=#BB1403,Direction=255)'><tr><td><span class='usertitle'>XMEN Iceman [DTM]<br>Founder and Leader of the Base Tribes XMEN Clan<br>Proud member of the Dragon Talon Mercenaries teamplayers Guild<br>Citizen of New Fenecia<br><br>You weren't much of a challenge - T2 bot after killing Iceman<br><br>- click on avatar for links - no, not sausage links!</span></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></p><i></i>

[Spinning Hat]

It seems that MS's biggest flaws lie withing the interopterability of IE and Windows, and how windows relies so heavily on it's browser. But what I don't see, is how this would affect a user who doesn't use IE as their default browser, or if they are behind more than one firewall on their network. Are these scenarios still possible? I am not very security savy, I know some basics and enough to protect myself from basic types of attacks, but I know that a determined hacker can and will find a way onto my network, whether it be breaking my WEP key, or a direct attack on me from the outside and find a way to bypass the firewall in my Linksys router. <p><!--EZCODE HR START--><hr /><!--EZCODE HR END--><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><br><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="color:red;font-family:Arial;font-size:medium;"><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>"Never, Never, Never Quit"</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> -Winston Churchill</span><!--EZCODE FONT END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></p><i></i>

[Ambush Bug]

Hat, even if IE isn't set as the default browser, its code is still active in XP. IE's HTML renderer, for instance, is used in Eudora, Outlook, and Office, not to mention other places within the OS itself.<br><br>There are ways to disable this behavior, but the difficulty in doing so can range from unchecking a box (Eudora), to full-on yanking bits of the OS off the drive (replacement .dlls and such).<br><br>Now excuse me while I pine for the greatness that was OS/2. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p></p><i></i>