Microsoft Pulls Broken XP Update

Cally writes "Yahoo! reports that Microsoft have pulled a Windows XP update from the Windows Update servers after it killed network access for some users of the claimed 600,000 who installed it. (Does this mean only 600,000 XP users trust Windows Update?) The story hints that the problem was something to do with VPN or IPSec drivers clashing with Symantec software - however I haven't found anything about this on the Microsoft KnowledgeBase (the link Yahoo provide goes to the generic support home page.) Anyone got more info?"

windows update

[satanicat]

windows mustive been getting too stable. .

Do they have any sort of quality control?=)

If only they had apt-get

[Debian Troll]

I am currently porting apt-get to Windows. This will mean that these types of embarassing security breaches never happen again. apt-get is the answer to all of today's problems.

Re:Maybe its not on KB because nobody is at work?

[BabyDave]

It is 5am in the morning.

Which is different to 5am in the afternoon ...

In Tomorrow's News

[AndroidCat]

A new worm has begun infecting XP systems that didn't install the latest patch. "It's their own fault, they should have kept up to date" said BG.

and then...

[mschoolbus]

Yahoo! reports that Microsoft have pulled a Windows XP update from the Windows Update servers after it killed network access for some users of the claimed 600,000 who installed it.

Furthermore, they realized how often all their OSes go down and decided to just give up.

If only was there a god to help us...

Re:If only they had apt-get

[lovebyte]

I am currently porting apt-get to Windows.
Please do. This Windows update patch did not work for me:
% sh Windows\ Update\ Patch.exe
Windows Update Patch.exe: cannot execute binary file

Um

[Obiwan Kenobi]

(Does this mean only 600,000 XP users trust Windows Update?)

Or does it mean that after a hundred thousand complaints they pulled it from the site?

*SLAP*

Re:Before you all complain about auto update...

[Timesprout]

What the hell are you doing !! Get a hold of yourself man and stop trying to point out the facts in this story. Most posters so far have already managed to increase MS's few reported cases to 600,000 broken updates. Let them have their fun.

Microsoft KnowledgeBase

[leeroybrown]

It's moments like this that prove that the phrase "Microsoft KnowledgeBase" may in fact be the ultimate oxymoron.

Re:Maybe its not on KB because nobody is at work?

[miscGeek]

Well nobody but the poor Win XP admins who installed the patch :)

XpP

[soliaus]

Thankfully, I uh.. well, lets just say that windows update would cause information about my machine *caugh*cd key*caugh* profile to be 'exposed'. So, like any self respecting geek, I killed update at the machine level. Now your thinking...insecure? No bug fixes? C'mon, its windows for gods sake! RAID couldnt kill THAT bug.

DRM

[Root Down]

It's not a bug, it's digital rights management preventing illegal file sharing!

Best Security Patch Ever

[bmongar]

Don't you see this is Microsoft making good on their promise for better security. Your computer cannot connect to the network then it is much more secure.

Re:If only they had apt-get

[Debian Troll]

I got tired of apt-get blowing up my unstable Debian, so I wrote this to make it transactional:

Your code looks very interesting, and would make a fine addition to the new Windows version of apt-get which I have almost finished writing. It is crafted in MMX/SSE accelerated x86 assembler, so it runs really fast! You will, however, need to port your nice Java program to assembler. I am also looking for people to help out with the GUI front-end to win-apt-get, which is based around a helpful paper clip character called 'Klecker'. When the user requires an update, they 'Klick' on 'Klecker', and he helpfully tells the user to "Fuck off and read the manual you filthy Windoze luser", or to "Take a fucking number and wait for win-apt-get stable to be released in 2017".

Re:Software Update Services...

[Anonymous Coward]

How about you find out what ^W means?

Obligatory Matrix reference

[Zog The Undeniable]

What good is a Knowledge Base article, Mr Anderson? If you're unable to surf?

Re:Microsoft Security

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, let's see. My hand has five fingers, I had to fix two computers yesterday because of this patch... that leaves 3 fingers of the handful to fix... They should call any minute now.

That's just my luck... Of the handful of people affected I had to know two of them...

Unless Microsoft is lying...

Noooooooo. They wouldn't...

What's the big deal?

[Anonymous Coward]

The update finally make windows computers secure from remote attacks. What's wrong with that?

That`s a security option

[Anonymous Coward]

MS is trying to teach users about the real hardcore security.
Next critical security update will shutdown you machine for good.
Hey, everyone knows that only machines turned off are secure from crackers and viruses.

Re:windows update

[Anonymous Coward]

Either way you'll probably be fired for using it on the company firewall when you should have used Gentoo instead

Gentoo on the firewall? What a great idea.

All. The external internet connections will be down today for a scheduled emerge of seventy mission critical packages. This will allow the firewall to run highly optimised binaries which won't actually speed up your internet connection as the firewall is generally idle anyway. The firewall will be up from 1am tommorow morning, unless the latest X is available, in which case I'll let you all know sometime next week once its finished building everything.

Re:If only they had apt-get

[subreality]

Hah, you BSD people are so behind the times.

subreality@underminer:~$ apt-get cure-world-hunger

Your ports tree can't do that. No wonder BSD is dying.

:-)

Re:Microsoft Security

[zm]

See, there's this new technology called "the telephone".... :)

Re:Microsoft Security

[wastaz]

Telephone? No, thats obsolete.
There's this new technology called "Palladium", it will help you with problems like this ^_~ as soon as your computer gets disconnected a little red light goes on at Redmond and a certified la...technician comes to your house and asks why you disconnected your computer.

It's the future!

Re:Not News

[mobiGeek]

In real life, people don't trust MS patches until they've tested them on their own systems with their own application mixes.

• Since when does a properly managed IT infrastructure qualify as "real life"?

...knowledgeable system admins, responsible for managing lots of Windows systems...

• Since when does a knowledgeable system admin manage an MS-Windows system?
• Since when does a system admin manage lots of MS-Windows systems (unless you define the terms lots or manage very differently than do I...)

:-)

Re:Maybe its not on KB because nobody is at work?

[Anonymous Coward]

Man, where's my +1, Tragic modifier when I need it?

It's a good thing it was roll-backable (yes I just made that up), can you imagine the tech support call?

You: This patch broke my computer, I can't connect to the internet anymore.

TS: We have the fix available, you just need to download it and install it.

You: This patch broke my computer, I can't connect to the internet anymore.

ad nauseum...

Re:windows update

[Anonymous Coward]

No shit. As the CEO, CTO and CIO of Standard Oil Co. I can confirm that when we replaced our Firewall with a Tandy TRS80 colour computer running TRSDOS our hacking attempts were reduced by 105%. Our revenue streams have also increased 97% and the junior messenger in block 3E has gotten laid. I uncovered the Ark of the Covonent after an epic battle of good and evil with 4th Reich Nazis in the Nirobi desert, and my ex-wife has taken a vow of silence as a Bhuddist Nun.

Without the Tandy Color Computer none of this would have been possible. You just cant equal that with Debian or Gentoo!

Re:What a bunch of crybabies here

[clonebarkins]

First you people complain that MS ships buggy OS's and no one knows how to update it. Now that they put in an auto-update feature for the newbie, everyone complains that it's also bad.

You're right -- the expectation that a product should work as intended is entirely unfounded. Thank you for freeing me from the ignorant cave in which I have been hiding all these years.

Re:Automatic Updates

[clonebarkins]

This is at least the 2nd or 3rd time that I've read a story on /. about a Windows XP/2000 patch that was no good.

Only 2nd or 3rd? Don't visit /. much, do ya?

Re:It wasn't just Symantec

[Anonymous Coward]

See there - that's what happens when you use a non-M$ security solution. If your computer just ran the built-in XP firewall this would never have happened, but you messed around and bought a competitor's product.

Serves you right.

Love and kisses,

Bill and Steve

Re:That's the problem with automatic patching

[Helmut Kool]

"Security improvement"? I guess it improves security dramatically if it kills the network access. Thanks, Microsoft!

Re:windows update

[Debian Troll]

Damn, I just re-read your post and realised I'm feeding a troll... Oh well: tough. Yeah, you'd sorta figure the name 'Debian Troll' would give it away, huh?

Re:Unfortunate = Flame War?

[Davak]

Hmmm... while tempted to launch into the whole PC vs Apple debate, currently I don't have the time...

I've got to get down to the pro-choice rally before I go lobby for my right-to-bear arms. After lunch I am attending the pro-captital punishment rally. Then hopefully tonight we can attend the fund raiser for the statue of Al "i invented the internet" Gore.

Here are the flame war rules. [velvet.com] Please print them out for later reference.

Davak (in asbestos underwear)

Re:Old news

[Blue Stone]

Is it dark in the future, what with your head up your arse?

"Fortnight" is a perfectly common term.

Re:That's the problem with automatic patching

[Alsee]

I hear their next patch improves on this already impressive security, it shorts your power supply causing the PC to turn off, you can't get much more secure than that!

Sure you can! Don't you know that 90% of all security vulnerabilities lie between the chair and the keyboard? The Third Generation Security Patch eliminates this vulnerability by shorting the powersupply to the keyboard before it destroys the computer.

-

Re:Old news

[Anonymous Coward]

"Fortnight" is a perfectly common term

Actually, I don't know where you're from, but no one uses that term in North America and I'm quite sure that very few know how long that is.

Don't be so arrogant.

Re:Old news

[Blue Stone]

"I don't know where you're from, but no one uses that term in North America"

and

"Don't be so arrogant."

Let me introduce you to the concept of irony.

Re:windows update

[Sazarac]

As an IT professional/developer with 130 wintel boxes in my charge, I just want to say thanks to Microsoft for giving me something to fill up the otherwise boring hours of my employment with endless regression testing to make sure everything works with everything else. It's not as if I'm AT ALL busy with keeping everything running anyway. Not to mention writing new code that compiles and runs fine on Win2K but randomly throws exceptions on NT.

!= ("Not!")

Sheesh... I'm gonna quit my job and start a new thrash band called Rage Against The Butterfly

Re:windows update

[El]

Do they have any sort of quality control?

Yes, they've got a huge installed user base that reports problems very quickly... why should that pay people to find bugs, when there are 600,000 people willing to pay them for the priviledge of beta-testing their software?

Re:If only they had apt-get

[phoenix_rizzen]

# pkg_add -r world-peace

Works like a charm here.

Re:If only they had apt-get

[tres]

Yeah, but try this with apt-get

• /home/tres:$ sudo pkg_delete osama_bin_laden-1.2

  pkg_delete: couldn`t entirely delete package (perhaps the packing list is incorrectly specified?)

oops...
well then, we have:

• /home/tres:$ sudo pkg_delete saddam_hussein-1.4_4

  pkg_delete: couldn`t entirely delete package (perhaps the packing list is incorrectly specified?)

hmm... well we couldn't get those done right, but we can fix some other things:

• /home/tres:$ cd /usr/ports/us/liberty

  /usr/ports/us/liberty: $ make install clean

  ...

  can't find dependency: bill_of_rights.so

I know it was there just a little while ago. grr...

Ha! I know how to fix it!

• /home/tres:$ sudo portupgrade president-43_b

Oh yeah! Try that with apt-get :-)

Re:That's the problem with automatic patching

[CoolQ]

> "Security improvement"? I guess it improves security dramatically if it kills the network access. Thanks, Microsoft!

How much do you want to bet that it still allows inbound SMB and Windows Messenger? :)

--Quentin