J
Jim Carlock
Windows is retaining a list of installed components and
updated components somewhere. It is a list as anyone can
do this to prove it. The list can be used by viral
programmers to indicate that your system is fully updated
and compliant when your system goes to verify it's
integrity against the Windows update site.
It is real easy to prove that this exists and is a
situation that Microsoft has continued to neglect since
Windows 98 first came out and possibly earlier.
NOTE: Before you attempt this make sure you can restore
your original configuration, because Windows Update will
NOT detect anything has changed. In other words create
a backup of any files you are going to replace.
To prove it on an XP system, just copy msoeres.dll from
the original CD to the following to places:
C:\Windows\System32\dllcache
C:\Program Files\Outlook Express
Then reboot the system. We want to make sure that the
files are taken out of memory and that they hold the
date of the original msoeres.dll.
And the goal is to prove that upon reboot, the files
will hold the original date, and that when you go to
the Windows Update site, it will in no way detect the
changes.
Outlook Express should continue to work okay and the
files should work fine and you can run Outlook Express
to confirm this. I don't recommend it but I'm doing it
and I believe the msoeres.dll file is just a resource
file based upon the name of the file. It does contain
some scripting code within though, that might compromise
your system, so you'll want to change it back to the
updated version.
And I do hold a question. Obviously, the operating
system doesn't check or verify integrity and Microsoft
does not do so and their sales pitches that XP is more
secure than other operating systems is not 100% correct.
This has been a problem that has existed dating all
the way back to at least Windows 98 and it's been talked
about in the past.
I'm looking for that file that the Microsoft Update site
checks.
Also, note that using SFC.exe as is recommended and
supplied by Microsoft poses an even greater security
flaw. It seems to try to restore files from the Original
CD and does NOT update that list of components and it is
my proposition that any such list is faulty. Perhaps
someone at Microsoft thinks that such is a list is an
improvement to the operating system. I however disagree
right at this moment.
Please correct me if I'm wrong in stating these. I
believe they are all 100% truthful and factual but I
might have overlooked something.
Does anyone out there know where this list is found,
if the list is duplicated anywhere else, like if it's
found in a particular folder, is it then duplicated
inside of the registry?
Thanks in advance for any comments.
updated components somewhere. It is a list as anyone can
do this to prove it. The list can be used by viral
programmers to indicate that your system is fully updated
and compliant when your system goes to verify it's
integrity against the Windows update site.
It is real easy to prove that this exists and is a
situation that Microsoft has continued to neglect since
Windows 98 first came out and possibly earlier.
NOTE: Before you attempt this make sure you can restore
your original configuration, because Windows Update will
NOT detect anything has changed. In other words create
a backup of any files you are going to replace.
To prove it on an XP system, just copy msoeres.dll from
the original CD to the following to places:
C:\Windows\System32\dllcache
C:\Program Files\Outlook Express
Then reboot the system. We want to make sure that the
files are taken out of memory and that they hold the
date of the original msoeres.dll.
And the goal is to prove that upon reboot, the files
will hold the original date, and that when you go to
the Windows Update site, it will in no way detect the
changes.
Outlook Express should continue to work okay and the
files should work fine and you can run Outlook Express
to confirm this. I don't recommend it but I'm doing it
and I believe the msoeres.dll file is just a resource
file based upon the name of the file. It does contain
some scripting code within though, that might compromise
your system, so you'll want to change it back to the
updated version.
And I do hold a question. Obviously, the operating
system doesn't check or verify integrity and Microsoft
does not do so and their sales pitches that XP is more
secure than other operating systems is not 100% correct.
This has been a problem that has existed dating all
the way back to at least Windows 98 and it's been talked
about in the past.
I'm looking for that file that the Microsoft Update site
checks.
Also, note that using SFC.exe as is recommended and
supplied by Microsoft poses an even greater security
flaw. It seems to try to restore files from the Original
CD and does NOT update that list of components and it is
my proposition that any such list is faulty. Perhaps
someone at Microsoft thinks that such is a list is an
improvement to the operating system. I however disagree
right at this moment.
Please correct me if I'm wrong in stating these. I
believe they are all 100% truthful and factual but I
might have overlooked something.
Does anyone out there know where this list is found,
if the list is duplicated anywhere else, like if it's
found in a particular folder, is it then duplicated
inside of the registry?
Thanks in advance for any comments.