I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore.
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-039
Buffer Overrun In RPCSS Service Could Allow Code Execution (824146)
Originally posted: September 10, 2003
- Who should read this bulletin: Users running Microsoft ® Windows ®
Impact of vulnerability: Three new vulnerabilities, the most serious of which could enable an attacker to run arbitrary code on a user's system.
Maximum Severity Rating: Critical
Recommendation: System administrators should apply the security patch immediately
I'm still using Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, but it is no longer in support. However, this bulletin has a patch. Why is that?
Windows NT 4.0 Workstation has reached its end of life as previously documented and Microsoft is not normally providing generally available patches. However, due to the nature of this vulnerability, the fact that the end-of-life occurred very recently, and the number of Windows NT 4.0 Workstations currently in active use, Microsoft has decided to make an exception for this vulnerability.
We do not anticipate doing this for future vulnerabilities, but reserve the right to produce and make available patches when necessary. It should be a priority for customers with existing Windows NT 4.0 Workstations to migrate those to supported platforms to prevent exposure to future vulnerabilities.
Disclaimer: The information provided in the Microsoft Knowledge Base is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Microsoft disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages, even if Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages so the foregoing limitation may not apply.
Technical description:
An attacker who successfully exploited these vulnerabilities could be able to run code with Local System privileges on an affected system, or could cause the RPCSS Service to fail. The attacker could then be able to take any action on the system, including installing programs, viewing, changing or deleting data, or creating new accounts with full privileges.
"I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more."
I used to rationalize putting time into knowing the latest technology fads, tweaks, patches, and workarounds by telling myself it was worth it to be able to share with others. I've hit the tipping point. I'm spending more time dorking around with fixes and Spam and brushes with catastrophe than I can justify. I'd rather be writing, photographing, analyzing, documentation, mindmapping, reading, interpreting...using my wetware.
So, where does one go? I would have thought this foolish until I finally encountered one patch too many. The answer, which I'll be exploring this week and next, is:
My switching costs used to be too high to contemplate this. Thousands of dollars in software, muscle memory for tapping out frequent instructions, and lots of peripherals/gadgets. Then it occurred to me that I can still use all this arcana as long as I'm not vulnerable to the net. I'll get a Mac and use it when I'm connected and keep my desktop for processing and specialty functions. At a minimum, this will give me training wheels while I get up to speed.
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Mad As Hell [listen]
written by Paddy Chayefsky
Howard Beale: I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth. Banks are going bust. Shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's no one anywhere that seems to know what to do with us. Now into it. We know the air is unfit to breathe, our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had 15 homicides and 63 violent crimes as if that's the way it's supposed to be. We know things are bad. Worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy so we don't go out anymore. We sit in a house as slowly the world we're living in is getting smaller and all we say is, "Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster, and TV, and my steel belted radials and I won't say anything." Well I'm not going to leave you alone. I want you to get mad. I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot. I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crying in the streets. All I know is first you've got to get mad. You've got to say, "I'm a human being. God Dammit, my life has value." So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out, and yell, "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" I want you to get up right now. Get up. Go to your windows, open your windows, and stick your head out, and yell, "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Things have got to change my friends. You've got to get mad. You've got to say, "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Then we'll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open your window, stick your head out and yell, "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"
Posted by Jay Cross at September 15, 2003 10:54 AM | TrackBack
Buying a Mac will also make you more stylish and instantly more attractive to women ;0)
Sherlock
Posted by: sherlock_yoda at September 17, 2003 04:08 AMAt a conference last week with loads of designers I was somewhat embarrassed to take out my non-Mac laptop to take notes. I decided to take notes on my Palm Pilot w/ keyboard instead. At least THAT gets some looks, though mostly from the other guys who think it's cool.
nice site
Posted by: free paris hilton jpg at June 28, 2004 11:56 PM
