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Posted on 14-8-2003
W32
Blaster Worm
A newsletter emailed to all PlaNeteers
Dear PlaNeteer,
This news is entirely about the W32 Blaster worm, which has
received much
publicity.
Some essential information:
* PlaNet detected the worm on Wednesday morning and immediately
blocked the
port that it uses to infect computers that are online (the work
is not
spread by email, but only needs the computer to be online) and
using
Microsoft Windows XP, Windows NT4, Windows Server 2003 and Windows
2000 -
all other operating systems are not affected. However, we cannot
guarantee
anything, and if you use Windows 2000 or XP, it's vital you
install the
relevant security patch from Microsoft:
* The only way a PlaNet client who is running one of above Microsoft
operating systems can become infected is to be using a Jetstream
account
with an internal DSL modem card - no other computer can be infected
as of
Wednesday morning. Also that computer would need to have been
left without
update patches and service pack upgrades from Microsoft... see
below.
* Microsoft software is uniquely vulnerable to attack and therefore
all
users of MS Windows of an description are strongly advised to
do the following:
a. Install a software firewall like Zone Alarm or Black Ice,
readily
available for free with a key-word search on http://www.google.com
To setup a firewall on your computer. The steps are:
If you have Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, enable the Internet
Connection Firewall (ICF). To do this you will need to:
1. Ensure you are not currently connected to PlaNet
2. Click the Start button
3. Click Control Panel
4. Click Networking and Internet Connections, and then click
Network Connections (some computers may have the Network Connections
icon
directly inside the Control Panel).
5. Right-click the connection on which you would like to enable
the firewall (normally this is labelled as "PlaNet"), and then
click
Properties.
6. On the Advanced tab, click the box to select the option to
"Protect my computer or network?"
7. Click OK
8. Close the Control Panel
If you are running Windows 2000 or Windows NT, install an Internet
firewall of your choice. We recommend (but do not support) ZoneAlarm,
which you can obtain at: http://www.zonelabs.com
Look for the link
ZoneAlarm (free)
b. Regularly use the `Automatic Updates' small programme that
links you
to the Micorosoft updates area and gives you the choice of downloading
and
updating your Windows operating system. Eg. download required
patches at
http://www.windowsupdate.com
c. Install an anti-virus programme, commercial product which
is well
worth purchasing at any computer store. If you don't currently
have an
anti-virus program installed go to
http://www.microsoft.com/security/articles/antivirus.asp
for help about
anti-virus software.
* How do I know if I've been infected? This may not be immediately
obvious,
however typical symptoms include your computer closing down
while you're
online and restarting without any warning. Visit this site to
see if your
computer is infected with the worm
http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/blast.asp
For further support,
please visit Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/security
or telephone
0800 800 004.
If your computer's operating system has already been infected
with this
worm, the Microsoft patch will not be effective on its own.
You can
download a Norton / Symantec Msblast worm removal tool
from:
http://www.norton.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blaster.worm.removal.tool.html
(that line or any other may be broken by line-wrap in emailing,
so
re-assemble it in your browser address bar if it is broken,
otherwise just
double click on line)
* If your PC is not infected download the appropriate patch
via
http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/blast.asp.
This site also
includes information about firewalls and worm removal tools.
Note that the
patch required for Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional
is available
via the "Windows XP (32 bit)" link. Update and run your anti-virus
software.
Yours sincerely,
Alan Marston, PlaNet
We have made every effort to ensure the information above is
accurate.
However it is intended to be for general information only. As
a result,
PlaNet does not accept any liability for any loss or damage
whatsoever
which may arise as a result of your use of this email, or for
any errors or
omissions in this message.
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