Microsoft Blames XP Blue Screens on Rootkits

For PC users, is there any sight more discouraging than the infamous Blue Screen of Death? After a wave of systems crashes that many users blamed on a Microsoft-issued patch, the software kingpin has come out with an alternate explanation.

eSecurity Planet has the story on the latest twist, and what Microsoft’s recommending to affected XP going forward.

A week after users began complaining that a recent security update for Windows that aims to patch a 17-year-old bug caused uncontrolled reboots and “Blue Screens of Death” (BSoD) for Windows XP users, Microsoft says it’s chased down the root of the problem — literally.

The problem, the company said in a blog post Wednesday evening, is caused by a rootkit malware infestation — not by Microsoft’s update.

“Our investigation has concluded that the reboot occurs because the system is infected with malware, specifically the Alureon rootkit,” Mike Reavey, director of the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC), said in the post.

“We were able to reach this conclusion after the comprehensive analysis of memory dumps obtained from multiple customer machines and extensive testing against third-party applications and software,” Reavey added. Only 32-bit versions of XP were affected.

Read the full story at eSecurity Planet:


Microsoft Says Rootkit Causes XP ‘Blue Screens’