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Unpatched Systems Survive Four Minutes Online
David Utter
Staff Writer
2008-07-15
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The presence of a firewall helps, but without something blocking the path from automated probes to one's PC, its survivability declines rapidly.
 | | Unpatched Systems Survive Four Minutes Online |  |
Venturing onto the Internet brings along a sizable share of risks. Doing so with an unpatched system looks like the height of folly; we would be surprised if any security pro did this for a home or a production system.
SANS' Lorna Hutcheson said she gets questions on the four-minute figure for unpatched systems. People seem to disbelieve it happens this quickly.
Hutcheson said the four-minute window is accurate, modified by whatever may be between the unpatched system and external threats. For those who want to have fun testing this, Hutcheson suggested the Honeynet Project.
"Placing an unpatched Windows computer directly onto the Internet in the hope that it downloads the patches faster than it gets exploited are odds that you wouldn't bet on in Vegas," she said.
"Using a NAT router and a correctly configured personal firewall is the way to go - both these measures help a lot to improve the odds in favor or your PC."
About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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