**Update** The source code, which was leaked initially to a P2P network, spread quickly to IRC, and is now heading for all the large warez channels out there. This really is a shame, because the high-security nature of Windows 2000 is likely to be compromised by an open codebase.
At the current time, anybody who has malicious intentions regarding your Windows 2000 computer can merely browse through the source code, find an unpatched hole, and then root you. If you're currently running Windows 2000, switch your machine off. If you can't, put a firewall up.
This is merely precautionary, as we still do not know the authenticity of the code. At the moment, OSFocus is trying to ascertain it through our MS sources, and we will post any updates as and when we get them.
This source code leak is one of the worst things I have ever come across in my experience as a tech/beta journalist and developer. Whoever leaked it should be dealt with in much the same way muderers and child molesters are. 25 years in jail for leaking Windows' source code? Sounds about right to me.
We will not assist you in finding this code, and we will not give it to you. We do not have it, and we do not want you to send it to us. The end.
************
Rumors abound web-wide that the Win2k and NT4 source code has been leaked and is floating around the internet. If true, it could spell trouble for Redmond and security experts alike. On the heels of a dangerous exploit this week comes a rumor than could prove downright painful. Neowin this afternoon announced that two packages containing Windows 2000 and NT4 source code were making the rounds. Slashdot soon followed up with their own mention of the rumored leak, effectively knocking Neowin off-line with traffic. So far the authenticity or extent of the leak has not been confirmed, though it does appear to be at least a portion of the code.
From the original Neowin report:
"At this time, it is hard to establish whether or not full code has leaked, and this will undoubtedly remain the situation until an attempt is made to compile them. Microsoft are currently unavailable for comment surrounding this leak so we have no official response from them at the time of writing.
This leak is a shock not only to Neowin, but to the wider IT industry. The ramifications of this leak are far reaching and devastating. This reporter does not wish to be sensationalist, but the number of industries and critical systems that are based around these technologies that could be damaged by new exploits found in this source code is something that doesn't bare thinking about.
We ask that for the wider benefit of the IT community that members and readers support Microsoft by forwarding anything they know about the leak to the Microsoft's Anti-Piracy department."
At the current time, anybody who has malicious intentions regarding your Windows 2000 computer can merely browse through the source code, find an unpatched hole, and then root you. If you're currently running Windows 2000, switch your machine off. If you can't, put a firewall up.
This is merely precautionary, as we still do not know the authenticity of the code. At the moment, OSFocus is trying to ascertain it through our MS sources, and we will post any updates as and when we get them.
This source code leak is one of the worst things I have ever come across in my experience as a tech/beta journalist and developer. Whoever leaked it should be dealt with in much the same way muderers and child molesters are. 25 years in jail for leaking Windows' source code? Sounds about right to me.
We will not assist you in finding this code, and we will not give it to you. We do not have it, and we do not want you to send it to us. The end.
************
Rumors abound web-wide that the Win2k and NT4 source code has been leaked and is floating around the internet. If true, it could spell trouble for Redmond and security experts alike. On the heels of a dangerous exploit this week comes a rumor than could prove downright painful. Neowin this afternoon announced that two packages containing Windows 2000 and NT4 source code were making the rounds. Slashdot soon followed up with their own mention of the rumored leak, effectively knocking Neowin off-line with traffic. So far the authenticity or extent of the leak has not been confirmed, though it does appear to be at least a portion of the code.
From the original Neowin report:
"At this time, it is hard to establish whether or not full code has leaked, and this will undoubtedly remain the situation until an attempt is made to compile them. Microsoft are currently unavailable for comment surrounding this leak so we have no official response from them at the time of writing.
This leak is a shock not only to Neowin, but to the wider IT industry. The ramifications of this leak are far reaching and devastating. This reporter does not wish to be sensationalist, but the number of industries and critical systems that are based around these technologies that could be damaged by new exploits found in this source code is something that doesn't bare thinking about.
We ask that for the wider benefit of the IT community that members and readers support Microsoft by forwarding anything they know about the leak to the Microsoft's Anti-Piracy department."
