How to Avoid the Mordo Worm

Date: 2011-08-30 19:13:17

Last week the Mordo Worm hit the news. We originally passed on linking this story because we felt our readers would be unlikely targets. Disabling the vulnerability is so easy it doesn't hurt to just do it. This worm only targets Windows. Protecting yourself from this worm is easy. Just avoid simple passwords for your computer login.

If you want to be absolutely sure you're protected, disable remote access. Disabling remote access varies slightly by Windows version, but they are all very similar. Here's the process in Windows 7

1. Click on the start menu, then right clicking on "My Computer" or "Computer" then selecting "Properties".

   

2. Find remote settings and click on it. In XP, this is a tab on the top of the dialog

   

3. Deselect "Allow Remote Assistance Connections to the Computer" and Select "Don't Allow connections to this computer".

   

If you need these instructions for a different Windows version, just leave a comment and we'll be happy to put the other screens together.

2011-09-06 - Update: If you require Remote Desktop Access, you can increase security by changing your default RDP port from 3389 to a different port. See Ghacks.net - Improve PC Security by Changing the RDP Port

Category: Vulnerability

Subcategory: Passwords

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