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Rootkit Confirmed to Cause Win XP Update BSoDs

by - source: Tom's Hardware US

Windows XP Update foiled by malware!

Earlier this month, Microsoft issued an update for Windows XP machines that suddenly triggered occurrences of Blue Screen of Death and reboots. Microsoft went digging and found that the problem wasn't with the patch, but rather malware.

Windows XP users who were infected with the Alureon rootkit would experience the crashes following the Windows Update procedure.

Microsoft's Mike Reavey writes on its TechNet blog:

We wanted to provide you with an update on our ongoing investigation into the “blue screen” issues affecting a limited number of customers who installed MS10-015.  We have been working around the clock with our customers, partners and several teams at Microsoft to determine the cause of these issues.  Our investigation has concluded that the reboot occurs because the system is infected with malware, specifically the Alureon rootkit.  We were able to reach this conclusion after the comprehensive analysis of memory dumps obtained from multiple customer machines and extensive testing against third party applications and software.  The restarts are the result of modifications the Alureon rootkit makes to Windows Kernel binaries, which places these systems in an unstable state.  In every investigated incident, we have not found quality issues with security update MS10-015.  Our guidance remains the same: customers should continue to deploy this month’s security updates and make sure their systems are up-to-date with the latest anti-virus software.

Check out Sophos Anti-Virus for removal of the rootkit.

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Titanius 02/19/2010 1:15 AM
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-12+

I knew that the article about how the latest updates from Microsoft made Windows XP have BSODs was bogus when I updated all the XP machines I support with the update and no BSODs showed up anywhere. Ah, a rootkit, comes to show how many people don't have "real" protection.

wintermint 02/19/2010 1:27 AM
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foody 02/19/2010 1:27 AM
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-16+

Gotta love Windows 7.

cheepstuff 02/19/2010 1:28 AM
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-20+

Windows is almost never the problem. usually it is bad 3rd party stuff, viruses or, on occasion, on a failing piece of hardware.

amdchuck 02/19/2010 1:40 AM
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-6+

yup, I am still on a updated XP machine both at home and at work....never had a problem....well, not never but you know, in reference to this latest BSOD ballyhoo

Abrahm 02/19/2010 2:10 AM
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-6+

Don't worry guys, the rootkit developers were kind enough to issue a patch to resolve this BSOD issue that their software was causing!

jhansonxi 02/19/2010 3:10 AM
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-6+

The developers should made the patch compatible with the rootkit. Malware is a common enough application on Windows.

bluekoala 02/19/2010 3:44 AM
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JonathanDeane 02/19/2010 4:00 AM
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-2+

7 may not be immune to these things but it is better equipped to resist them.

This is just another example of the new generation of malware or spyware... Its so sneaky even using the machine presents no obvious symptoms.

m-manla 02/19/2010 11:11 AM
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-6+

I bet Microsoft is sick of pulling resources to find out the problem wasn't created by them.

adribhel 02/19/2010 11:58 AM
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-14+

@bluekoala:

You will notice that every sane person with a minor understanding of how a fraud works never have these problems. Whatever Microsoft does, it won't help when idiots keep clicking everything they see on the web.

Keep Windows updated, use free anti-malware from Microsoft and don't be stupid = never get a virus.

Regulas 02/19/2010 3:26 PM
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drksilenc 02/19/2010 3:54 PM
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-3+

bluekoala u do realize that all os's from this era had these problems and this is one reason that the uac of vista and 7 are a good thing for the casual user that doesnt no a good link from a virus... thats like saying its

GenKhan2 02/19/2010 4:57 PM
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-3+

Not surprising. Windows problems are almost always caused by user error like being stupid enough to get a rootkit installed on your machine. Windows would be perfect if Microsoft could release patches for people.

rhelme 02/19/2010 8:21 PM
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-1+

NegativeX,

The problem is your anti-rootkit software is probably not finding the issue...

replace the recommended files from the Windows XP cd and I bet your problem is solved... not all anti-rootkit software works and finds it... if this patch is causing a BSOD you are rootkitted, and your company should look for someone new to admin its machines..

JonathanDeane 02/19/2010 11:04 PM
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-0+

rhelme :
NegativeX,The problem is your anti-rootkit software is probably not finding the issue...replace the recommended files from the Windows XP cd and I bet your problem is solved... not all anti-rootkit software works and finds it... if this patch is causing a BSOD you are rootkitted, and your company should look for someone new to admin its machines..



Probably true this rootkit is only discoverable by a bootable solution. This means Linux or some other solution. I believe the software in question resides in the OS files used to access the hard drive so its very difficult to load something to scan the hard drive and this malware has the ability to hide itself from the scan. Hmmm at that point it could just hide 99% of itself in the "empty" portion of the hard drive with only itself knowing how to read that area. Then all you need is a small stub loader in the SATA driver.

xpslover007 02/21/2010 1:05 AM
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-0+

It was probably microsoft who designed an update to react to the malware, they're desperately trying to get people to stop using xp already and pay up for the new OS

The_Prophecy 02/21/2010 5:03 AM
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GenKhan2 wrote :

Not surprising. Windows problems are almost always caused by user error like being stupid enough to get a rootkit installed on your machine. Windows would be perfect if Microsoft could release patches for people.




+1. Thanks GenKhan! The last sentence made my day!

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