REDMOND, Wash., Aug. 15, 2003 — To help ensure customers try to protect themselves from the current W32.Blaster worm, Microsoft Corp. is encouraging them to go directly to http://www.microsoft.com/security/ and follow step-by-step guidance on how to help prevent becoming infected by the Blaster worm and what to do in the event they have become infected. Those steps include the following:
-
Use a firewall, such as Internet Connection Firewall in Windows XP.
-
Update your computer with the latest patches, and turn on AutoUpdate to simplify the process of installing future updates.
-
Install, use and update anti-virus software.
Blaster may affect several versions of the Windows® operating system, including Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows NT®
and Windows Server (TM) 2003. If you are using one of those operating systems, and haven’t downloaded and installed a software patch from Microsoft’s Web site ( http://www.microsoft.com/security/ ), your computer may be affected.
Additional information demonstrating how customers take the three steps above can be found under the Actions for Blaster worm update link at http://www.microsoft.com/security/ .
“Many resources have been deployed to help ensure that customers have the guidance and tools they need to enhance their computer security,”
said Jeff Jones, senior director of Trustworthy Computing at Microsoft.
“Our goal is to offer customers a comprehensive set of resources to both combat the Blaster worm and to arm them with the security best practices needed to keep their PCs more secure in the future. The information and links mentioned here serve to achieve this objective, and we hope that media outlets will assist in distributing these resources as part of the articles being published.”
The Blaster worm can potentially impact customers in two ways. First, it may cause infected PCs to repeatedly crash. Second, it could potentially use infected machines to try to launch a Denial of Service attack on Microsoft’s Windowsupdate.com on Aug. 16. This anticipated attack might cause the Web site to run slowly or be inaccessible to customers. Microsoft is currently taking aggressive steps to try to ensure that Windows Update remains fully available. In the event of any disruption, customers can continue to access and download the patch by going directly to http://www.microsoft.com/security/ .
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT and Windows Server are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft®
Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.asp .
