Windows Update Running on MS IIS/6.0 on Linux

[SMBP]

<P ID="edit" class=small>(Edited by Leif on 16-Aug-03 13:15. to delete unnecessary attachment.)</P>Maybe we can look forward to Microsoft Linux because right now, Windows Update is running Microsoft-IIS/6.0 on Linux. Windows Update has delivered a number of July 16 released patches for Microsoft Blaster that gave a false sense of security because many of the Blaster Patches released on July 16 that were delivered by Windows Update were not in fact running on systems although Win Update detects them. These falsely detected patches were not in fact registered as hotfixes in the appropriate key on these computers.

This is one more reason why Windows Update is currently unstable and unreliable and a compelling reason to receive the 99% of hotfixes that are security patches through Technet's Security Website.

Here's another. Blaster has managed to DNS Windows Update and block access to it. Because Windows Server 2003 is vulnerable to blaster, Microsoft has switched to a server system called Linux to confer stability on Windows Update.


Windowsupdate.com Running on Linux Server!! Microsoft Makes History!

System Uptime at Windowsupdate.com on Microsoft's new Linux servers

Worm Worries

Windows Update Blasted Beginning August 16, 2003 at Midnight--

SMBP

[jscher2000]

I don't believe that IIS 5 or 6 will run on Linux, or anything other than a fairly recent version of Windows.

Apparently Microsoft uses the Akamai network to help distribute load. Thus, an IIS server on Microsoft's server farm may populate a page with URLs that pull from Akamai, and Akamai's load-balancing technology will serve the linked resource from the server that is believed to be the closest (in time to deliver) to the user. Akamai uses Linux-based web servers.

If you've ever used HouseCall, you will see the same thing in action: you get a page from trendmicro.com, but it contains links like this:

http://a936.g.akamai.net/7/936/537/60c71b1...header-logo.gif == >
<IMG SRC=http://a936.g.akamai.net/7/936/537/60c71b1087049b/housecall.antivirus.com/global/common/images/header-logo.gif>

I suspect it's similar with WindowsUpdate, though I haven't studied it.

[SMBP]

This is very interesting stuff for me--and also not easy information for me to come by. If you're in the business of maintaining these kinds of server farms than it's probably part of the backdrop. My understanding with Update's main site is that MS understands the targeting strategy of Blaster enough to project it is timed to launch repeat attacks at Update and maybe other of their sites for many months to come, so they aren't going back to put the main Update site up, but will keep it going by "transferring" its traffic to other sites.

SMBP

[jscher2000]

The "real" update site, http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/, is fine. The "friendly named" windowsupdate.com site has been turned off. It may well stay off for good; I don't think it's needed.

[SMBP]

Windows Update on Linux--an Urban Legend is Born

www.microsoft.com running on Linux? Up to a point.

SMBP