Windows firewall set ablaze
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Windows firewall set ablaze
All Hallows breaks loose
By INQUIRER newsdesk: Tuesday 31 October 2006, 14:03
SECURITY WATCHDOG Websense is warning world wide webbers to watch out for tricksy Halloween related ScareWare.
Several websites have been created all in the name of ruining someone's Halloween, says Websense. The sites are easily found through search engines and can be reached with the old typo trick, so be careful not to Google for "Hallowien". You're probably safe with hair metal band Helloween, however.
The dodgy sites in question are advertising Halloween related goods or knowledge in their headers but contain something far spookier, spyware.
Coupled with a new Windows attack that is capable of murdering your firewall, it could make for a nasty Samhain indeed.
The code for the new Windows attack, reports NetworkWorld, was published online early last Sunday.
The attack can sneak into certain XP machines and fully disable Windows Firewall, even on a completely patched copy of WinDoze. It would seem the weakness is in the Windows' Internet Connection Service, or ICS, a program built for setting up a local area network.
If you're running ICS, it's recommended by security braniacs that you disable it, though this will kill your connection. Third party firewalls, as always, are recommended. µ -
so scary
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Disabling Windows Firewall won't cripple your connection.
If it does, just re-enable it back and install another firewall.
Read the first post this sticky thread.
Disabling Windows Firewall
Start > Control Panel > Windows Firewall
In the General tab, select Off (Not recommended).
Click OK.
Then go to Start > Run.
Type in services.msc
Find Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
Double click it.
A new window will pop up.
Change the Startup type to Disabled (blue box).
Click Stop (brown box).
Click OK.