Talk:Microsoft releases emergency patch for WMF exploit

Finaly, Microsoft got a patch out - installing it now :D Brian New Zealand 21:45, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

News? / Title? / Subject?

Reposted from Talk:Microsoft Windows metafiles are a vector for computer viruses:

I'm not sure this really warrants a seperate news story. Patches are just whats expected. Not releasing a patch would be a news story. But releasing an emergency patch 5 days ahead of their scheduled monthly patch update, while very good, doesn't seem like a news story to me. I recommend generalizing the new story to cover all responces to the exploit, not just Microsofts.

Alright, after seeing how long this article is, I'm less inclined to disrupt it. Still, people need to understand that many many computers won't get patched, as this exploit effects all versions of windows currently in use, even quite old ones. For this reason, I think its also important to talk about the various efforts others have made to work around the problem. For example, we should mention that MediaWiki quickly eliminated the risk of WMF files mascarading as other file formats. Other major sites, such as livejournal or ebay, might have taken measures to mitigate these risks as well (although ebay almost surely isn't that competent). So I still suggest renaming the article to something like "Responses to the WMF exploit; MS releases patch early" and adding coverage of more extraordinary responses.

Please note that I am *not* suggesting that we take MS's patch out of the title, nor am I suggesting that coverage of the MS patch should be slighted in any way. MS's patch should be clearly covered, as installing it is one way to actually help yourself. I just feel that more extraordinary responces are technically more newsworthy. Anyway, a lazy comperamize would be to keep the story focus & title, but add information about other people's efforts to mitigate the dangers.

Thoughts? Nyarlathotep 22:37, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Generally, I agree with you. On the other hand, I believe this is only the third time MS has released an unscheduled patch; it is rather newsworthy for this reason, and indicates the severity of the issue in their eyes. - Amgine | ^{talk en.WN} 22:41, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Okay, seems like a case for: leave it mostly alone but add other people's responces too; as I don't think we are going to write another article. Nyarlathotep 18:24, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Removed.

I removed the following sentence as it is very difficult to understand what the author means. It also contains erroneous spelling.

"The effectiveness of this patch has not yet been confirmed as the effectivness of a privatly launched patch by a Russian individual earlier this week."