Microsoft: Got Bluescreen? Check for Rootkits
Summary: Microsoft confirmed that the Windows XP crashes and blue-screens following February 2010's Patch Tuesday occurred mainly on systems already infected with the Alureon rootkit, which modifies Windows Kernel binaries and leaves machines unstable. Mike Reavey of the Microsoft Security Response Center said memory dumps from multiple customer machines and testing against third-party applications showed no quality issues with security update MS10-015, and Microsoft's own report counted nearly 2 million Alureon removals in the first half of 2009, up from a half million in the latter half of 2008.
What's compelling: Nearly 2 million Alureon removals in six months means a large installed base was carrying a kernel-level rootkit that only surfaced when a routine patch triggered reboot loops, and Microsoft's near-term guidance was to keep patching while it worked on a removal tool due in a few weeks.
Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗
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