[aprssig] OT: Windows XP Service Pack 3

[Dave Baxter]

Have to say...

You shouldnt realy have UPnP running on a router anyway.  It's a *HUGE*
security hole waiting to get you..  Any malicious code you inadvertantly
download (it happens) can if it is programed to, reconfigure your router
for it's own use (setting up port forwarding for example) without your
knowledge, if you have UPnP support enabled on a router.  It's best
turned off on the PC too, there is nothing that "realy" needs it..

This is NOT the same thing as the Plug-n-Play service running in the
background of Windows.

After all, as people who use PC's and networks, arn't we suposed to
manage all this ourselves?

About the only use for UPnP, is for gamers who use multiple consoles,
not PC's.  Even then it's debatable.

In any case, the code on the router should have been more robust, to not
crash due to "unexpected" parameters sent to it from a LAN client..
Mind you, they are not the only maker who has had buggy router firmware
"out there" in the past...

73.

Dave G0WBX.
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stephen H. Smith [mailto:wa8lmf2 at aol.com] 
> Sent: 08 June 2008 04:17
> To: TAPR APRS Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [aprssig] OT: Windows XP Service Pack 3
> 
> This just posted on Slashdot.org at:
>     <http://tech.slashdot.org/tech/08/06/07/1727240.shtml>
> 
> 
> Anyone here yet experienced this?
> 
> 
>       Windows XP SP3 Causing Router Crashes
> 
> *Posted by timothy <http://www.monkey.org/%7Etimothy/> on 
> Saturday June 07, @02:14PM* *from the 
> *insecurity-through-non-obscurity* dept.* 
> <http://tech.slashdot.org/search.pl?tid=172>
> <http://tech.slashdot.org/search.pl?tid=218>
> KrispyBytes <mailto:krispy78 at gmail.com> writes /"Windows XP 
> SP3 has been named as the culprit causing home routers to go 
> into a crash and reboot cycle 
> <http://apcmag.com/router_crashes_blamed_on_windows_xp_sp3.htm>. 
> One router maker has released firmware updates to fix the 
> problem, but has not yet revealed what is actually different 
> about XP SP3's networking stack or UPnP behaviour that causes 
> the problem. Router maker Billion Managing Director Raaj 
> Menon said "as Microsoft plans to make Windows XP SP3 an 
> automatic upgrade this month, the number of affected routers 
> may increase significantly.""/
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