10 replies to this topic

[Nvyseal]

images/news/security.jpgBetaNews has confirmed through its own testing this morning that a critical patch, released yesterday by Microsoft as part of a worldwide DNS bug fix effort, can and does impact the functionality of software firewalls.

Multiple reports from users since yesterday afternoon have complained of systems incapable of contacting the Internet after having implemented patch KB951748. This patch makes a major change to the way the operating system handles DNS requests. Specifically, it implements a system that enables source port randomization -- a way to scramble the address from which a request is placed -- as a security measure to thwart malicious users from being able to craft false DNS responses, and thus "poison" the caches of DNS servers.

Read more via Betanews

[m.oreilly]

hummm...how many of us here use a software firewall (windows fw/3rd party) ? i find them temperamental at best (consumer grade, al la zone alarm, etc.).

[banj0]

m.oreilly, on Jul 9 2008, 06:54 PM, said:

hummm...how many of us here use a software firewall (windows fw/3rd party) ? i find them temperamental at best (consumer grade, al la zone alarm, etc.).

I haven't used one in a long time. I'm happy with my router and regular scans for bad stuff. I doubt stuff is going outbound without me noticing.

I wonder if this Hotfix screwed up Windows' Firewall as well...

[m.oreilly]

banj0, on Jul 9 2008, 05:24 PM, said:

I haven't used one in a long time. I'm happy with my router and regular scans for bad stuff. I doubt stuff is going outbound without me noticing.

I wonder if this Hotfix screwed up Windows' Firewall as well...

i'm the same way: router firewall does fine, and as for the windows fw...i dunno. i would assume they would tailor the patch to work with their own setup, but one never knows...

[banj0]

m.oreilly, on Jul 9 2008, 08:54 PM, said:

i would assume they would tailor the patch to work with their own setup, but one never knows...

We are talking about Microsoft, lol.

[Nvyseal]

Again, thank you for your input. We all take for granted our broadband connections and don't realize quite a few of our visitors and a few of our members are still on dial-up modems, which don't use hardware routers, and are only safe using software.

[banj0]

?

I don't think that fact has been lost in this conversation. No one in the thread has bashed users of Soft-walls for whatever reason; further, no one in the thread has said anything remotely like, "This is a non-story," or "None of us use Dial-up so forget about it." It's important to a lot users, for sure. But MO asked a very reasonable question in the first reply to the story:

MO said:

ummm...how many of us here use a software firewall (windows fw/3rd party) ? i find them temperamental at best (consumer grade, al la zone alarm, etc.).

That's a legitimate question to a story like this. No one in this thread is taking broadband for granted as far as I can see.

Quote

We all take for granted our broadband connections and don't realize quite a few of our visitors and a few of our members are still on dial-up modems.

If the tone of the thread led you to think that, I apologize for any part I might've played. It wasn't intentional. It's an important story; thanks for posting.

[Nvyseal]

Banj0, i was pointing out the fact that we with broadband have routers with built in firewalls, something we take for granted. If fact, i, like you and many others dont even think about a firewall anymore. We set it, and forget it.

My reply was to answer MO's question:

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ummm...how many of us here use a software firewall (windows fw/3rd party) ? i find them temperamental at best (consumer grade, al la zone alarm, etc.).

Quite a few: Dial-up users. and yes, they have to deal with the frustrations of a soft wall or not run anything at all.

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I dont think anything in this thread had any certain tone to it, I just look past my own hardware to others who are not so fortunate, like my parents who still are on AOL dial-up, who often call me up asking questions on why their internet has stopped working. This post may also help us in helping them resolve their problem.

[VROSA]

I use softare fw at home

[banj0]

Nvyseal, on Jul 10 2008, 10:50 AM, said:

I dont think anything in this thread had any certain tone to it, I just look past my own hardware to others who are not so fortunate, like my parents who still are on AOL dial-up, who often call me up asking questions on why their internet has stopped working. This post may also help us in helping them resolve their problem.

Yeah, I totally agree. It's a good bit of info for a lot of people and word should get out. I just thought it might've looked like MO and I had taken the thread to a place we shouldn't have without realizing it.

[m.oreilly]

http://www.tombridge...o_create_a.html


looks like there used to be bunches of routers available that did dialup, but in the last year and a half, they have all but disappeared...