IP: WINDOWS 95 FILE AND PRINTER SHARING SECURITY ISSUE

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

           Microsoft(R) WinNews Electronic Newsletter
                Special Issue,  October 20, 1995


***********************************************************
Here is some important information on Windows 95 that
may affect some of you.  Please make certain to read it.




UPDATED DRIVERS FOR WINDOWS 95 FILE AND PRINTER SHARING
SECURITY ISSUE - October 20, 1995


Microsoft wants its customers to know that it has
discovered and fixed a potential security problem with file
and printer sharing in Windows 95.  Only customers who have
enabled file and printer sharing - a non-default option -
may have been at risk, and, to the best of our knowledge,
no users have been harmed.  Nevertheless, Microsoft
regards this potential problem with the greatest
seriousness and, we have worked hard over the past week to
resolve it.  Microsoft recommends customers using File and
Printer Sharing upgrade to the newer drivers.




How do I know if I am affected?
Only customers that use the File and Printer Sharing option
to share their files with other users on a network are
affected.  This option is not enabled by default so unless
you have manually enabled it, you are not affected by this
issue.  To determine if File and Printer Sharing is
enabled, choose the Networks Option in the Control Panel.


If file and printer sharing is enabled, you  will see
either "File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks"
or "File and Printer Sharing for NetWare Networks" in the
list of installed network components.




What are the issues?
File and Printer Sharing for NetWare Networks


Microsoft was recently made aware of an issue with File
and Printer sharing for NetWare Networks which may affect
data security for corporate users.


Only users whose environments meet both of the following
conditions may be affected:


    1. They configure their machine to share files and
        printers with other users on the network using File
        and Printer Sharing for NetWare networks (This
        option is not turned on by default)
    2. They enable remote administration or install
        Microsoft Remote Registry Services  (These options
        are not turned on by default)




If your configuration matches that listed above, it is
possible for another user on the network to gain read-only
access to your machine after the administrator has logged
off the machine and until you restart your computer.  To
correct this problem, Microsoft has issued an updated
driver for File and Printer Sharing for NetWare Networks.
The updated driver ensures that only valid administrators
have access to the computer's drive.
....