Unpatched Windows Machines Own3d Within 4 Mins

| Jul 18, 2008 | 0 comments

The Register is reporting that an unpatched Windows computer is likely to be attacked and compromised within four minutes of being connected to the Internet.

Cables at computer Server
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The time it takes for a PC to get itself owned varies by operating system and what activities a user engages in – but even allowing for this, putting an unpatched Windows PC directly onto the net in the hope that it downloads patches faster than it gets exploited give you “odds that you wouldn’t bet on in Vegas”, warns Lorna Hutcheson, a researcher at the SANS Institute’s Internet Storm Centre (ISC).

The truth is, the machine is far more likely to get compromised before you even get Microsoft Update to get past Windows Genuine Advantage, let alone start downloading updates.

Security experts advise using a NAT (network address translation router) and personal firewall before connecting systems to the net on anything outside sacrificial systems. This best practice can create tensions between management, who want new systems up and running as quickly as possible, and security admins.

A NAT router and Windows Firewall is more than enough protection. I don’t recommend using ZoneAlarm or other third party software firewalls as they don’t provide any additional incoming protection and the outgoing protection they claim to offer is often foiled by modern Trojans and Worms. Therefore you’re just wasting additional resources running them and are often nagged and bugged needlessly about things you do want to allow to connect to the internet.
[Unpatched Windows PCs own3d in less than four minutes ]

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