Hopefully if you are using your computer as a public web server, you won't be inserting random USB devices into it.
Brit network O2 hands out free Windows virus with USB pens
A marketing campaign by O2 that sent customers USB-embedded pens backfired last week – after it transpired a number of devices contained a "Windows-specific virus." The UK cellphone network sent out the USB pens to its business customers followed by a marketing email encouraging them to download a free eBook. That was then …
COMMENTS
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Monday 8th August 2016 12:21 GMT Dwarf
Re: We need a double facepalm icon.
You mean like D'oh D'oh or even D'oh, D'oh, D'oh ?
Even though this is O2's fault as the supplier, if the last decade's guidance on good information security had any benefit at all to end users, then they should know about the need for up-to-date AV and not shoving free things into the computer without considering where its been and the associated risks and countermeasures to reduce those risks.
You have to wonder what would happen if someone turned up at their front door with free doughnuts, I bet they would take those as well.
When will people learn.
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Monday 8th August 2016 13:26 GMT Haku
Re: We need a double facepalm icon.
"When will people learn."
In a lot of cases, never.
But then there are instances that even take the most cautious by surprise, like you'd never expect a commercially pressed audio CD to root your computer.
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Monday 8th August 2016 16:37 GMT DoctorNine
Re: We need a double facepalm icon.
Staking the enterprise security structure on network users learning good computer habits, is like staking your own personal hygiene on users of a public washroom learning good sanitary habits. I guess you COULD, but most of us are a bit more risk averse.
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Monday 8th August 2016 12:11 GMT m0rt
"He said: "For any customers that have already used the USB or are concerned, we have a specialist team on hand to support them and guide them through any action they may need to take. We apologise for any inconvenience." ®"
Oh really? A specialist team? So where were this specialist team when some ****head thought you should send out USB sticks as a marketing exercise?
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Monday 8th August 2016 13:48 GMT MyffyW
Re: A spokesman said:
Was there really only one thing they didn't want to happen? That's comforting.
Customer: Your sales staff have turned into flesh-eating zombies.
O2: That's fine.
Customer: Your mobile signal reprogrammed my DNA and now I'm a Salamander-like being and Lt Tom Paris is getting amorous.
O2: That's fine, Captain Janeway.
Customer: I got a virus off your freebie pen.
O2: "This is the one thing we didn't want to happen."
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Saturday 20th August 2016 12:04 GMT Kiwi
Re: A spokesman said @MyffyW
@Phil_W and @d3vy ... one of those episodes where you don't just have to suspend your disbelief, but wrestle it to the floor and tickle it into submission.
I think that was about the last episode of ST:V I ever watched. Actually wondering if I should try again.
Now if you want a truly terrible SciFi experience, one that could put you off SciFi for the rest of your life, watch DS9 in the shortest time possible. If you can.
(#B5Fan... :) )
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Monday 8th August 2016 16:05 GMT Stuart Castle
Re: Windows NT???
Not necessarily. NT had plenty of security holes that could be exploited via an unsecured network share. All it would take is for one newer machine on the network (running a recent version of Windows) to become infected when someone plugs in a USB, then the virus could start scanning other machines on the local network for unsecured shares (or even secured ones if it can exploit a vulnerability in SMB), then using a vulnerability in NT's RPC (Remote Procedure Call) subsystem to copy itself to another machine, then install itself on that machine. All with no user intervention.
Remember, newer versions of Windows lock down pretty much everything network wise until it is needed. NT did the total opposite.
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Monday 8th August 2016 13:01 GMT Anonymous Coward
The virus infects program files and web files on computers running the following systems: Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT,Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows XP.
Errm yeah, I call BS on those two as they predate USB. NT4 didn't have any kind of hot-plug ability in my experience: maybe there was a beta somewhere but I seem to recall the closest it got to supporting hot-pluggable hardware was PCMCIA and even then you had to shutdown before inserting or ejecting cards.
Been there, done that.
As for Windows 95, well there was a supplement that added USB support. Last time I tried it, it didn't support USB storage, and in fact even Windows 98 needed a separate driver installed. Windows ME was the first of that line of OSes to ship with USB storage support and I find it incredible they'd bother supporting anything DOS-based.
Strikingly absent are Windows 7, 8 and 10.