I received some alarming email from my Internet Service Provider (ISP) today and thought I would pass along the word.

There has been a major security threat issued for all users of Microsoft Windows NT, 2000, XP and Server 2003 (RE: Knowledge Base Article #824146). All of those who are affected need to download a patch immediately in order to resolve this breach.

In short, "A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to remotely compromise a computer running Microsoft Windows and gain complete control over it. You can help protect your computer by installing an update [below] from Microsoft" (MS Security Bulletins #MS03-039).

On a similar note, my laptop computer was hit by the Blaster Worm the other day, and it managed to sneak past my Firewall and Virus Scanner completely unnoticed! In short, the Blaster Worm allows "an attacker to connect to your computer via the Internet and issue commands that cause the worm to scan and target network shares with weak passwords and computers vulnerable to both the DCOM RPC vulnerability and the locator service vulnerability" (Sophos Virus Analysis: w32agobotq). I have provided two links below to resolve this issue as well.

This is serious stuff!

If you own Windows NT, 2000, XP or Server 2003, you need to get three of the following patches to keep your computer safe from hackers.

For the latest RPCSS threat, discovered September 10, 2003:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/security_bulletins/ms03-039.asp

And, for the Blaster Worm, discovered August 21, 2003:

www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-026.asp

www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-001.asp

Follow the instructions on the web site to download and install the patches.