Automatic Windows Updates Vulnerable to Exploitation, Boldewin Says

Virus writers have found a way to exploit the automatic Windows updates pushed by Microsoft to smuggle viruses onto computers, according to the BBC.

The Beeb cites a report by security expert Frank Boldewin, who wrote on his Web site reconstructer.org that he had noticed an e-mailed trojan that had exploited the Windows automatic update program to get around a user’s firewall. Last week, according to The Washington Post, Boldewin published a proof of concept program that demonstrated how that worked.

Symantec reported the conversations with Boldewin, and called the approach a clever trick. “At the moment there is no immediate workaround,” Symantec advised.