Another Microsoft virus goes unreported
“Attack Overwhelms Internet, Slows Traffic”, says an AP report in the NYT. But we get half-way down the story before it is revealed that the new virus is actually exploiting vulnerabilities in, ah, Microsoft software. “Rick Miller, a spokesman for Microsoft Corp., however, confirmed that Internet congestion was interfering with administrators trying to download the crucial software patch that Microsoft made available to protect vulnerable computers.”
But now comes the really funny bit: For it turns out that “the same congestion also completely prevented consumers from contacting Microsoft over the Internet to unlock the anti-piracy features of its latest products, including the Windows XP and Office XP software packages.” Verily, you could not make this stuff up. But why doesn’t the headline say Virus exploits Microsoft vulnerability, screws up Internet?