Internet worm hits Windows users, crashes computers
An Internet worm that targets the latest versions of Microsoft's Windows operating system is spreading rapidly around the world.
The worm, known as "Blaster", "Love-San" or "MS-Blaster", triggers computer crashes and slows Web connections.
It specifically targets computers running Windows XP and Windows 2000.
Security analysts say the worm is unusual, as it does not spread via e-mail but through Web connections.
At least 124,000 computers using Microsoft's Windows software have been infected worldwide, according to a sample by Symantec's Security Response sensor network.
Though the origins of the virus are unknown, it is creating havoc for people using Microsoft operating systems.
"This virus is a virus that actually reboots your machine. You can be typing and all of a sudden a screen will come up and say, your machine will reboot in about five minutes, or ten seconds, and it starts counting down," said Adrian Duncan, Associate Press broadcast engineer.
Computers infected by Blaster scan the Internet looking for other machines running Windows that have an open security hole -- one that has not been "patched" or given a fix from Microsoft.
The worm then sends itself to those computers.
Although some corporate networks were slowed by the worm, no impact on overall Internet traffic was detected.
The worm surfaced on Monday in the US and quickly spread, taking advantage of a security hole discovered last month in Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows NT, and Windows Server 2003 operating systems.
Patches for the hole, except for Windows NT 4.0, which the company no longer supports, were put online by Microsoft.
Both Microsoft and the US Department of Homeland Security have been warning about the loophole since mid-July.
But according to experts, many office and home users apparently failed to heed those warnings.
The worm crashes some systems and infects others, but otherwise does no damage, Microsoft said.
Experts say the worm is poorly written, but new variations of it could be more virulent.
The patch is available at
www.microsoft.com/security.
*luckily i managed to download e patch within 1 mins time before my com auto reboot* :blah:
.......
. I was doing my 'real' work on the Linux machine.
