Code RED in a nutshell
1) NT and 2000 Servers that are running IIS.
2) Patch has been available since Jun 18/2001.
People should be more concerned about that stupid Sircam virus than this Code red worm, as usual the mainsteam media has it all wrong.
More info
Summary:
The Code Red Worm and mutations of the worm pose a
continued and serious threat to Internet users. Immediate action
is required to combat this threat. Users who have deployed
software that is vulnerable to the worm (Microsoft IIS
Versions 4.0 and 5.0) must install, if they have not done so
already, a vital security patch.
How Big Is The Problem?
On July 19, the Code Red worm infected more than 250,000 systems
in just 9 hours. The worm scans the Internet, identifies
vulnerable systems, and infects these systems by installing
itself. Each newly installed worm joins all the others causing
the rate of scanning to grow rapidly. This uncontrolled growth
in scanning directly decreases the speed of the Internet and
can cause sporadic but widespread outages among all types of
systems. Code Red is likely to start spreading again on
July 31st, 2001 8:00 PM EDT and has mutated so that it may be
even more dangerous. This spread has the potential to disrupt
business and personal use of the Internet for applications such
as electronic commerce, email and entertainment.
Who Must Act?
Every organization or person who has Windows NT or Windows 2000
systems AND the IIS web server software may be vulnerable.
IIS is installed automatically for many applications. If you
are not certain, follow the instructions attached to determine
whether you are running IIS 4.0 or 5.0. If you are using
Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me, there is no action that
you need to take in response to this alert.
What To Do If You Are Vulnerable?
a. To rid your machine of the current worm, reboot your computer.
b. To protect your system from re-infection:
Install Microsoft's patch for the Code Red vulnerability problem:
- - Windows NT version 4.0:
http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/Release.asp?ReleaseID=30833)
- - Windows 2000 Professional, Server and Advanced Server:
http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/Release.asp?ReleaseID=30800)
Step-by-step instructions for these actions are posted at
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?)
url=/technet/itsolutions/security/topics/codeptch.asp
Microsoft's description of the patch and its installation,
and the vulnerability it addresses is posted at:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?)
url=/technet/security/bulletin/MS01-033.asp