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NetWatch - News about Critical Windows Updates and Security

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Why NetWatch?

As programmers crank out billions of lines of program code to develop the programs we use every day, they leave mistakes or vulnerabilities. When these security holes are found the programs are patched by the software manufacturer, but how do you keep track of every Microsoft, Adobe, Sun and Apple update?

The answer is that you cannot unless you monitor the right computer mailing lists, newsgroups and blogs. There is a constant stream of Computer security issues, how do you know what you should, what you shouldn't and what you need to apply right now. At Creative Computing we already do this for our NetCare Business Computer support customers. Why not let us give you a Free summary of all of this data letting you know what is critical and when you should apply the updates?

Where Did Computer Viruses Come From?

November 2, 1988 an Infamous Day in Computer Security

The Internet marked an infamous anniversary November 2nd 2008. Twenty years early the first replicating program designed to infect network-connected computers was released onto an unsuspecting Internet. This program was called the Morris Worm for the 20-year old Cornell University student Robert Morris, that designed and released the program. The term Worm came from the ability of the program to move from computer to computer on its own, and it was the prototype of several different types of viruses, spyware, and worms that we see today.

The Worm quickly exploited known weaknesses in common computer programs and disabled 10% of all Internet-connected system, which were estimated at more than 60,000 machines. In 1998 when the Morris Worm was released, the Internet was primarily made up of only researchers and government agencies.

Unfortunately, the types of vulnerabilities that Robert Morris took advantage of twenty years ago still exist in the programs we use today. The difference is that software manufacturers and computer security professionals look for these problems and offer fixes for the problems. Today's problem is tracking vulnerabilities as they are found and applying the fixes before someone can take advantage of them to compromise your computers.

Today The Problem is Much Worse

Unfortunately, the types of vulnerabilities that Robert Morris took advantage of twenty years ago still exist in the programs we use today. The difference is that software manufacturers and computer security professionals look for these problems and offer fixes for the problems. Today's problem is tracking vulnerabilities as they are found and applying the fixes before someone can take advantage of them to compromise your computers.

Computers with out the proper updates applied and security software like anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewalls, can be infected with viruses, or spyware just by connecting to the Internet. Other sources for infections are web pages, email, USB flash drives and external hard drives

The recent Conficker worm outbreak is an unfortunate example, of how things have changed for the worse. In October of 2008 Microsoft found and quickly patched a vulnerability across all version of Microsoft Windows that would, if not patched, allow a remote program to have full administrator access to the vulnerable computer. Although Microsoft rushed a fix out the door to close this hole, as of Fed 1, 2009 over 9.5Million unpatched computers worldwide had been infected by the Conficker worm.

Time to get the Word Out!

At Creative Computing, we have decided to provide a new service called NetWatch that will act as an Emergency Broadcast System for critical computer updates from Microsoft and other common software programs used by our business clients. Monitoring security websites, blogs and mailing lists is something we do at Creative Computing to support our NetCare clients. As new fixes are made available we will review them for stability and let NetWatch subscribers know that new patches are ready and need to be applied to their systems.

The best part about NetWatch is that the service is completely Free! Once you sign up we will begin delivering updates about critical patches to your inbox. You will still have to apply the updates, but at least you will know which ones to apply and when you should. We hope NetWatch will be a useful service to help you stay on top of security events as they happen.

Signup for our Free NetWatch Service - Get Computer Security, Virus Updates to Protect your Computers: There is no cost or commitment for the NetWatch service. Since we already monitor these issues for our Complete NetCare Business Network support clients, we fell it is important to offer these security alerts as a public service. You do not need to be a Creative Computing client to receive these critical notifications.

NetWatch Blog Feed

To receive up to date information as we issue alerts you should already be subscribed to our Free NetWatch notification services. We post blog articles for major security issues and updates only.

NetWatch Security Web Links

This is just a few of the websites we monitor for Computer Security issues every day.

NetWatch Blog: Our NetWatch Security blog. You should be signed up for our NetWatch mailing list to receive more immediate updates, but this site will let you review past alerts and articles.
Microsoft Security TechCenter: Updates on Microsoft software security
US-CERT - United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team: The United States Homeland security agency operates the US-CERT recognizing that computer security and the Internet are critical to the interests of our country. This is a good source of critical issues that must be addressed.
Creative Computing NetCare - Saginaw, Bay City, Midland Let us worry about viruses, spyware, and windows updates: Creative Computing NetCare is designed for Business Owners Who Wants To Significantly Cut Their IT Support Costs And Eliminate The Frustration and Worry of Computer Network Problems.