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Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Worm takes down ABC, CNN computers
A computer virus targeting Microsoft Corp.'s Windows software shut down machines at Time Warner Inc.'s CNN and Walt Disney Co.'s ABC network Tuesday.
CNN spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg confirmed computer failures in Atlanta and New York and said she wasn't sure which worm caused the damage.
ABC computers on both coasts were affected, spokesman Jeff Schneider said. He also couldn't identify the worm or virus.
The Zotob computer worm has been spreading since Sunday and affects machines running Windows 2003, 2000 and XP, according to anti-virus software maker Symantec Corp. Symantec gives the four variants of Zotob a "low" severity rating of 2, with 5 being the highest. Microsoft's Windows operating system runs almost 95 percent of the world's personal computers.
The worm takes advantage of a Windows flaw that Redmond-based Microsoft disclosed Aug. 9 when it released a software update to fix the flaw.
The time between the disclosure of a flaw and the creation of a worm or computer virus that takes advantage of it has decreased from months to days over the past four years. That has made it more important for Windows customers to apply software updates quickly after the disclosure of security holes.
A patch for the flaw is available at www.microsoft.com/technet/security/ Bulletin/MS05-039.mspx.
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