Microsoft Pushes Rare Windows XP Patch ...

HotHardware.com > Microsoft Pushes Rare Windows XP Patch For WannaCry-Style Wormable Exploit

by Paul Lilly — Wednesday, May 15, 2019

For the few of you who are still clinging to Windows XP, there is a new security update available. That's right, Microsoft has issued a rare patch for the defunct operating system, along with a few other versions of Windows, to protect against a 'wormable' exploit that could spread from infected PC to infected PC in a similar manner as WannaCry.

This is a remote code execution vulnerability (CVE-2019-0708) that is present in Remote Desktop Services (formerly known as Terminal Services). It affects older versions of Windows dating all the way back to Windows XP. Other affected versions include Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, and Windows 2008.

Microsoft says this vulnerability is "pre-authentication and requires no user interaction." That is partly what makes it so dangerous. It can spread in worm-like fashion, just like the troublesome WannaCry malware did in 2017.

"It is important that affected systems are patched as quickly as possible to prevent such a scenario from happening. In response, we are taking the unusual step of providing a security update for all customers to protect Windows platforms, including some out-of-support versions of Windows," Microsoft said.

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If you're still running XP, then patching this vulnerability is not going to make you any safer online, since XP has been unsupported since 8th April 2014, and there are already a great many vulnerabilities for that OS that Microsoft has not patched.

An unpatched unsupported OS is a liability ... period ... and you should upgrade to a supported one ASAP.

See ... https://www.malwareremoval.com/forum/vi ... 07#p560007

Know what you mean but, combined there are still w-a-y more Windows machines not running version 10 than those that are.

Agreed, and I'm one of them, since I don't use W10 myself ........ however W10 is not the only supported OS available, and it is possible for people with XP to upgrade to a supported OS without them having to install W10.

Yep, still using W7U64 on my daily driver. I think I read somewhere in the last couple of days that Windows XP is on about 4% of the machines that access the internet and Windows 7 is 39%.

I use Linux for my DD (distro varies with whichever I prefer at any particular time), however I need to have a Windows OS for my work on the forums, so I also have a copy of W8.1 for that (well at least until 2023 when it too runs out of support).

Know what you mean. Also have XP, 8, 8.1, and 10 at the ready in order to help forum users. (Moderator on several. and also a former MVP 2001-2006).

My current daily Linux machine is a $99 11.6" Pinbook (laptop) running a customized version of KDE Neon. Only had it about a week but loving it so far. Exceptional value.

More info, if you're interested:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevang ... 07f6b85be2
https://dot.kde.org/2018/08/22/kde-plas ... p-pinebook
https://www.pine64.org/pinebook/

I also carry a few small bootable USB keys on my keychain with various distro's including Slax, BackTrack, Kali, Zorin, Mint, etc.

I currently have Mint Cinnamon running on an oldish Acer laptop (5G Ram and i3 processor), I also have a more powerful HP laptop (16G Ram and i7 processor) on which I run W8.1, plus a whole bunch of different OS's on VM.

I test stuff first on VM, and then if I need to see how they perform on a real machine, I install any I'm interested in on the Acer.

I also have a number of ISO files, and/or installers for various distros, and a bunch of bootable tools, on a number of different USB drives.

Yep, do the same here: test in a VM first. Also have an old slow Acer w/8GB that I'll boot up from different HDs/SSDs with various Operating Systems installed on them. Lenovo ThinkPad running W10P64, a QNAP NAS, an old machine running FreeNAS, my Digital Storm i7 running W7U64, Pinebook w/KDE, another old Acer that I rarely use (XP), oh, and a Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2" (64GB) tablet running KitKat (I think). Wife also has a few cool tools of her own.

I've got an old Toshiba with XP on it that I no longer use, I keep it just for memories, and an even older Toshiba with Windows 4.3 on it (that still works) for if I ever want to remember what computing was like before the Internet arrived.

Cool. I still have my old IBM 5155 portable (luggable) running MS-DOS 6.21. It was still working fine last time I fired it up maybe a decade ago. I gave my original IBM 5150 stamp (B), the complete setup, to my little brother decades ago. Don't know if he still has it or not. Back when I was getting interested in computers, CP/M was still pretty popular. Then everything started changing rapidly after IBM released their x86-based PC and DOS in '81.

Ooh, an IBM5150, now there's a thing that brings back some memories. As I recall it used an Intel 8088 processor, and back in 1982, at college in Hull, I learned to write Assembly Language instructions for Intel 8088 and Zilog Z80 processors.

How things have changed since then.

Yep, it was indeed Intel's good-'ol 8088. Sure wish I had had more time way back then. I could only dream of pursuing Assembly language, or any other type of programming classes.

Trust me, I've probably forgotten everything I ever knew about Assembly Language programming, since I've never actually had any real cause to use it since I left college.

My course was on Electronics and Telecommunications, and learning to program in AL was just a sub-unit of the Microelectronics class. It was interesting at the time, but never really helped me in my later career, and is now just a distant but fond memory.

Know what you mean. Many "distant and fond memories" here as well.