This is the second post I see about this today, one in the Me group and
this one. In all my years of following the W95/NT/ME & W2K groups this
is not an issue that has popped up often. I'm inclined to think that a
new spyware or virus has cropped up to use the Dcom vulnerability but it
could be a mere coincidence.
I am pasting this reply I gave on the Me group. It could be something
completely different but my instinct tells me this is relevant:
"DDE Server? Are you on a network? If so talk to your network
administrator. If you are not on a network you could have a valid
application using this protocol for collaboration with others, sharing
data over the internet for example.
"DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) is a standard protocol that allows Windows
applications to share data. It is ideally suited to interface SCADA
packages or spreadsheets and databases to a WorldFIP application."
Or someone is doing heavy duty spying on you! My advice if you don't
collaborate over the internet is to "Dcombobulate" your pc. See here:
http://www.grc.com/dcom/
(Inserted for this group: Go in your Services Manager and turn Network
DDE to "Manual" start or disable it altogether)
There is also a Microsoft configuration utility for it but I can't
remember its name or find it just right now...
If you do use applications to collaborate with Dcom there is a HUGE
security risk involved, make sure you have all the MS Dcom patches applied."
In addition to that I would recommend:
Download these 2 products, install them, update them and run scans on
your machine.
Spybot Search & Destroy
http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=spybotsd
Lavasoft AdAware
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
Anything that these programs identify as spyware/malware should be
removed from your machine. Don't forget to regularly update them, like
you update antivirus software sort of.
Note for the Spybot updates: There have always been some problem or
other with the update servers, select the "EON (Australia)" server
instead of the "UniDo (Europe)" or other servers for the downloads. The
Australian server seems to always work while the others are hit and miss.
John
