XPSP2 Update VIII: The Firewall Backdoor™

21 February 2005 10:46 UTC

The fun never stops.

Hats off again to the Redmond Buffoons™ - and a special nod to anyone who really believed SP2 could be a cure after all these years.

And a special 'hats off' to anyone anywhere (they exist in theory) who really didn't believe MS ActiveImelda™ would strike.

The 'backdoor' - actually more like a wide open barn door - is not so much a product of poor programming as one of unbelievably bad design.

As described at Habanero Networks, all malware has to do to bypass the Amazing Windows SP2 Firewall™ is list itself as an exception to the filtering rules - and all processes running on the default account in XP have the ability to do this.

So much for security; but be aware: this is not so much a flaw in the implementation of the firewall as a flaw in the fundamental design of Windows itself.

Windows is a crumbling house of cards and nothing™ will keep it up much longer.