HACKERS DEFEATED BY MICROSOFT

Hackers defeated… This is always good news, right?

We’ve often been critical of Microsoft. Its operating systems have usually been buggy and slow, and they seem to require multiple patches to work properly. Occasionally, though, the brainchild of Bill Gates functions exceptionally well. When it does, we want to give it proper credit.

With this in mind, we call your attention to last night’s announcement by Microsoft regarding a potential security threat. Earlier in the day, a group of hackers called The Shadow Brokers released a suite of Windows ‘exploits’ which could have enabled hackers to compromise computers operating on multiple versions of Windows. But Microsoft had already moved to forestall the attacks.

In a blog entry posted last night, Microsoft described the attacks and its responses. Microsoft had repelled one, ERRATICGOPHER, before the release of Windows Vista. Another, ETERNALCHAMPION, it had patched along with two unrelated vulnerabilities.

Yesterday’s Microsoft Security Bulletin spelled out the company’s responses to The Shadow Brokers. On March 14, it patched ETERNALBLUE, ETERNALROMANCE, and ETERNAL SYNERGY. The company didn’t bother patching three others. These were: EXPLODINGCAN, ENGLISHMANDENTIST, and ESTEEMAUDIT. Microsoft left these alone because it couldn’t simulate the attacks on any systems it supports. This evidently means any systems it provides updates for- Windows 7 or newer.

The hackers apparently made the mistake of testing their exploits on a ‘clean install’ of Windows. A ‘clean install’ is a version without recent security updates. The hackers then, had no idea how their attacks would fare on properly updated systems.

We’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. Update your computer’s operating system often. Be especially vigilant when you hear about critical threats.

(To find out more about computer security, follow this blog. For the strongest internet connection, talk to us. We can help.)