[vee_ess]

Wow. What can I say. For the longest time, Microsoft has been releasing patches on their site for their products to fix security holes and other bugs, and they put explanations of what the patch fixes and why it is needed. They go into extreme detail in these explanations and let us know how hackers would go about exploiting that particular hole if they decided to. Since most people don't keep their systems "updated", an exploit of a bug that a patch has been made for could easily be distributed successfully. Well, lo and behold, hackers have figured this out, much to my surprise (who would have thought?). Now, we should realize that this isn't solely Microsoft's problem, as many OS's (including several brands of Linux) practice this, however they are the biggest target. The first reason is, as we all know, because it has become pop culture to hate Microsoft. They are also the most widely spread of any of the targets; they cover much of the business world and most of the home market. Due to their size, Microsoft gets tons of publicity, especially when it comes to security, or a lack thereof. This presents a two-fold problem. First, whenever Microsoft releases a significant patch, it is broadcasted across the internet if it is something that a hacker could exploit. Recently I came across an article on the Internet entitled, "Hacker code could unleash Windows worm." As if that isn't inviting someone to create MSblast.exe. Articles like that not only describe the effects and how devastating it could be, but also how to make it. The second part of the problem is that there is a lot of incentive for noob hackers to get their works put in the news. This makes it almost seem as if this could have been staged.