New Windows attack can kill firewall

Hackers have published code that could let an attacker disable the Windows Firewall on certain Windows XP machines.

The code, which was posted on the Internet early Sunday morning, could be used to disable the Windows Firewall on a fully patched Windows XP PC that was running Windows' Internet Connection Service (ICS). This service allows Windows users to essentially turn their PC into a router and share their Internet connection with other computers on the local area network (LAN.) It is typically used by home and small-business users.

The attacker could send a malicious data packet to another PC using ICS that would cause the service to terminate. Because this service is connected to the Windows firewall, this packet would also cause the firewall to stop working, said Tyler Reguly, a research engineer at nCircle Network Security Inc., who has blogged about the issue.

By knocking off the Windows Firewall, a criminal could open the door to new types of attacks, but there are a number of factors that make such an attack scenario unlikely, Reguly said.

For example, the attacker would have to be within the LAN in order to make the attack work, and, of course, it would only work on systems using ICS, which is disabled by default. Furthermore, the attack would have no effect on any third-party firewall being used by the PC, Reguly said.

Users can avoid the attack by disabling ICS, Reguly said. But this will also kill the shared Internet connection.

An easier solution, may be for ICS users to simply move their networks onto a router or NAT (Network Address Translation) device, said Stefano Zanero, chief technology officer with Secure Network SRL. "They are so cheap right now, and in many cases they offer better protection and a easier administration of your LAN," he said via instant message.

Windows XP appears to be the only platform affected by this attack, which has not been successfully reproduced on Windows Server 2003, Reguly said.

Microsoft 's initial investigation into the matter "has concluded that the issue only impacts users of Windows XP," the company's public relations agency said Monday in a statement. "Microsoft is not aware of any attacks attempting to use the reported vulnerability or of customer impact at this time."

First IE7 Security Flaw Found

Less than 24 hours after the launch of Internet Explorer 7, security researchers are poking holes in the new browser.

Danish security company Secunia reported today that IE7 contains an information disclosure vulnerability, the same one it reported in IE6 in April. The vulnerability affects the final version of IE7 running on Windows XP with Service Pack 2.

If a surfer uses IE7 to visit a maliciously crafted Web site, that site could exploit the security flaw to read information from a separate, secure site to which the surfer is logged in. That could enable an attacker to read banking details, or messages from a Web-mail account, said Thomas Kristensen, Secunia's chief technology officer.

"A phishing attack would be a good place to exploit this," he said.

One of the security features Microsoft touts for the new browser is the protection it offers users from phishing attacks.

Secunia rates the security flaw as "less critical," its second-lowest rating, and suggests disabling active scripting support to protect the computer. The flaw could result in the exposure of sensitive information and can be exploited by a remote system, Secunia said in a security advisory posted on its Web site.

It is hard to exploit the flaw because it requires the attacker to lure someone to a malicious site, and for the attacker to know what other secure site the visitor might simultaneously have open, Kristensen said.

"A quick user browsing through our Web site using IE7 found it failed one of our tests," he said.

The company then verified the information, notified Microsoft and published a proof-of-concept exploit on its Web site.

Update: Microsoft said Oct. 19 that the problem was not with IE 7, but with Outlook Express.

Wikipedia co-founder plans 'expert' spinoff

Larry Sanger, co-founder of Wikipedia, says he will launch a spinoff of the free site, called Citizendium. It will include user registration and editorial controls to govern user-submitted articles, unlike the free-for-all submission process that reigns on Wikipedia. With "gentle" controls in place, Sanger says Citizendium will naturally weed out so-called trolls from posting obscenities or biased information.

"Wikipedia is amazing. It has grown in breadth and depth, and the articles are remarkably good given the system that is in place. I merely think that we can do better," Sanger said. "There are a number of problems with the system that can be solved, and by solving those we can end up with an even better massive encyclopedia."

Sanger said an invitation-only, pilot version of his nonprofit site will launch this week, but wider release has yet to be determined.

Since early 2001, when Sanger helped get Wikipedia off the ground with co-founder Jimmy Wales, the service has become one of the most popular research tools on the Web and one of its fastest-growing sites, with more than 2 million articles in 229 nationalities. In September, the site attracted more than 33 million unique visitors, up 162 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to research firm Nielsen NetRatings.

Like Wikipedia, he wants the service to evolve with public participation--it will be a "fork" of the open-source code of Wikipedia, meaning that it will replicate its existing database of articles and then evolve, through user participation, into a new compendium of its own. But unlike Wikipedia, Citizendium will have established volunteer editors and "constables," or administrators who enforce community rules.

Citizendium is soliciting experts in their fields to post and oversee articles on any given subject. Another difference from Wikipedia is that Citizendium will require that members register with their real name to post to the wiki. That, Sanger said, should also discourage shenanigans.