Windows 7 - Machines left unpatched so MS can avoid BSOD déja vu.

Microsoft is seeking to avoid a repeat of February's blue-screen problems with this month's bumper crop of Patch Tuesday patches. After installing the February updates, some users of Windows XP found their systems wouldn't boot. After investigation, this turned out to be due to an interaction between the Alureon rootkit and the patch for KB977165 which updates the Windows kernel. Microsoft has subsequently released tools that attempt to detect the rootkit and prevent installation of the patch if a machine appears compromised.

This month's patches also contain kernel updates, and so have the same incompatibility with the rootkit. As the bulletin for MS10-021 states, "This security update includes package detection logic that prevents the installation of the security update if certain abnormal conditions exist on 32-bit systems. These abnormal conditions on a system could be the result of an infection with a computer virus that modifies some operating system files, which renders the infected computer incompatible with the kernel update."

Why do these users that are having the BSOD have a rootkit installed on there system in the first place?

Because sadly most of them are of the click happy crowd, that will click OK to just about anything and open just about any attachment they get in an email.

but all I have to do is ring you up and start TeamViewer !!

Because sadly most of them are of the click happy crowd, that will click OK to just about anything and open just about any attachment they get in an email.

Dear mold MUM. She even admits it and says

Dear mold MUM. She even admits it and says

Sounds exactly like my Mum, checking every single piece of e-mail she gets, including junk, and opening every link she gets in them.

Sounds exactly like my Mum, checking every single piece of e-mail she gets, including junk, and opening every link she gets in them.