(#2) Web Security Tip: The lowdown on WindowsXP raw sockets

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(#2) Web Security Tip: The lowdown on WindowsXP raw sockets



Benjamin Vigil's Web Security Tip on the security issues of WindowsXP was one of two tips that received the highest user rating -- a 5.0. Do you have a tip of your own on Windows security? Submit it to

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There has been a lot written recently in the computer press about WindowsXP and the perceived security issues that exist with a feature called "raw sockets." The issue is whether or not WindowsXP machines can be used as anonymous zombies to run distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Anonymous is the operative word here. But if the zombies are anonymous, the sides in this debate are anything but. On one side is Steven Gibson of the Gibson Research Corporation and on the other is Microsoft.

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For more information on this topic, visit these searchSecurity resources:
Best Web Links: Securing Microsoft applications
The Information Architect: WindowsXP -- Now or later?
Bad Packets: DDoS and the 'Jedi Mind Trick'