Client Updates

Many have found that the reason they was not affected on their desktop machines was due to the same regular updates and patches applied to the system.

Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer 5.01 Service Pack 2, Internet Explorer 5.5 Service Pack 2 and Internet Explorer 6 were not affected by this virus. By keeping your IE current and patched, you would have protected your browsing clients from picking up the virus.

Outlook 2002

Outlook 2002 (Office XP) as well as Outlook 2000 (Patched with the security updates) were also not at risk with this virus. More specifically, there is an Office Web update patch that provides additional security. In my case, Outlook 2002 is configured for administrative security mode. Executables are totally blocked and programmatic access to the address book is only allowed with permission from the user at the time of access.

Summary

Before I get angry messages from anti-virus vendors, I must say that you still need virus detection! We recommend that you update your signatures and use anti-virus programs to protect yourself from attacks. I would also recommend that you stay on top of any and all patches and updates for your office applications as well as your browser and operating system. Keeping these current will help plug security holes and help prevent the next new virus from disrupting you or your business.

For more information on Nimda, follow these links:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/topics/Nimda.asp

http://www.nipc.gov/warnings/advisories/2001/01-022.htm