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Massive vulnerability in Windows Defender leaves most Windows PCs vulnerable
cyberdiva:
How are we supposed to tell whether Microsoft has fixed the vulnerability on individual computers? I have Windows 7 Professional. I see no indication that Microsoft has made available to me any update that would fix the problem (i.e., my last updates were installed more than a week ago, and I see no sign that new updates are ready for me to download and install).
I have Kaspersky as my main AV, but apparently I still receive updates for Windows Defender as well. Some months back, when I tried to turn off Windows Defender, Microsoft kept telling me I should turn it back on, so I did. To my surprise, WD and Kaspersky don't seem to interfere with each other. But in light of the news of this latest vulnerability, should I try again to turn Windows Defender off?
Deozaan:
How are we supposed to tell whether Microsoft has fixed the vulnerability on individual computers?
-cyberdiva (May 21, 2017, 08:07 PM)
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The linked article says:
To check whether your Windows PC has been updated, head to "Windows Defender settings" and note the Engine version number. 1.1.13704.0 or higher means you've been patched.-https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/05/windows-defender-nscript-remote-vulnerability/
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tomos:
How are we supposed to tell whether Microsoft has fixed the vulnerability on individual computers?
-cyberdiva (May 21, 2017, 08:07 PM)
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The linked article says:
To check whether your Windows PC has been updated, head to "Windows Defender settings" and note the Engine version number. 1.1.13704.0 or higher means you've been patched.-https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/05/windows-defender-nscript-remote-vulnerability/
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-Deozaan (May 22, 2017, 12:16 AM)
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thanks Deozaan,
on the older MSE, click the little drop-down arrow beside help, then 'about' gives the relevant info:
Engine Version: 1.1.13704.0
cyberdiva:
Many thanks, Deozaan. I've now checked. The version number is way out of date, but apparently I succeeded in turning WD off when I installed Kaspersky and did not succeed in turning it back on when it kept nagging at me to do so. So Windows Defender is turned off. I'm assuming that means that it hasn't been scanning anything and won't be doing so, and thus it will not be vulnerable to the malware threat in question. If I'm wrong, I hope someone will let me know.
tomos:
Many thanks, Deozaan. I've now checked. The version number is way out of date, but apparently I succeeded in turning WD off when I installed Kaspersky and did not succeed in turning it back on when it kept nagging at me to do so. So Windows Defender is turned off. I'm assuming that means that it hasn't been scanning anything and won't be doing so, and thus it will not be vulnerable to the malware threat in question. If I'm wrong, I hope someone will let me know.
-cyberdiva (May 23, 2017, 07:48 AM)
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if you have another AV installed, it will disable Defender.
(Could you run W.Defender, and update manually to be on the safe side? -- not sure would Kapersky complain though)
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