Administrators who suspect that their network is at risk of infection or possibly infected with the Conficker worm can use the latest version of GFI LANguard to scan for vulnerable machines, identify those that have been infected and apply the necessary patch to prevent the worm from spreading, email and security provider GFI Software said today. GFI has also released a 5-IP freeware version of GFI LANguard to assist businesses shore up their defenses against this worm and thousands of other exploits.
The Conficker worm exploits the MS08-067 vulnerability in the Windows Server Service and propagates itself quickly over a network. Although a patch from Microsoft has existed for this vulnerability since October 2008, delays in applying the patch have allowed for widespread infection.
The latest version of Conficker creates an imitation of the MS08-067 patch that makes infected machines appear to have been patched. This can mislead users into believing that their machines are clean thus opening for door for future infections, especially in a networked environment.
This update of GFI LANguard informs administrators if they are (a) vulnerable to infection; or (b) already infected with the Conficker worm. The simulated MS patch created by the latest variant of the worm does not bypass GFI LANguard checks, and GFI's software detects the missing patches even on infected machines.
Winner of the Best of TechEd award in 2007, highly recommended by the judges at the SC Magazine Europe awards in 2008 and a finalist at this year's SC Magazine Europe awards, GFI LANguard enables administrators to scan, detect, assess and rectify vulnerabilities on their network and to secure it with minimal administrative effort.
Over 15,000 vulnerability assessments are carried out when the network, including any virtual environment, is scanned by GFI LANguard. Once the scan is complete, GFI LANguard's patch management functionality allows administrators to easily deploy and manage patches and security updates on all machines across the network. Hardware information can be retrieved and baseline comparisons used to check for unauthorized changes.
For more details about Conficker, read this FAQ.
For more information on GFI LANguard visit http://www.gfi.com/lannetscan/.
About GFI
GFI is a leading software developer that provides a single source for network administrators to address their network security, content security and messaging needs. With award-winning technology, an aggressive pricing strategy and a strong focus on small-to-medium sized businesses, GFI is able to satisfy the need for business continuity and productivity encountered by organizations on a global scale. GFI has offices in the US, Malta, UK, Hong Kong and Australia which support more than 200,000 installations worldwide. GFI is a channel-focused company with over 10,000 partners worldwide. GFI is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. More information about GFI can be found at http://www.gfi.com.
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