Code Red invades Hotmail too

San Francisco, Aug 9: After weeks of urging the public to patch computers running its software to prevent Code Red infections, Microsoft Corp found on Thursday that its own servers needed de-worming.

Some Web servers that host Microsoft Network’s Hotmail, the free Web-based e-mail service, were found to be infected with one of the two Code Red worms, Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler said on Thursday.

“No customer data was compromised and there was no impact in performance or security,” said Desler. “We’ve been vigilant in scanning systems. This underscores the continued threat posed by Code Red.”

The worm spreads through a hole in the Microsoft Web server software running on Windows NT and 2000 computers. Code Red II spreads faster and leaves a “backdoor” on infected machines, making them vulnerable to future hacking. On Wednesday, Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft released a new tool that can be used to clean up infected computers. Memphis-based FedEx Corp, which uses the Internet to place orders and track packages en route to delivery, also had computers infected by Code Red, a spokesman said on Thursday. “We had a few problems but nothing we weren’t able to quickly fix,” said FedEx spokesman Jim McCluskey. “We’re running normally now.”

-- Reuters