ANNOUNCE: Windows 95 .PWL Security "Functionality Enhancement"

[Rich Graves]

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I have been instructed that it is not a bug fix; it is a "Functionality 
Enhancement." Please note headers before replying -- you're probably in a 
Bcc field.

The patch for the problem we started discussing on November 1st is dated
yesterday, but no one outside Microsoft appears to have seen it until
today. pr/password.htm started forwarding to the patch distribution page
some time between 2PM and 7:30PM Pacific Time today (yes, I had hit
"reload"). 

 http://www.microsoft.com/windows/software/mspwlupd.htm
 http://www.windows.microsoft.com/software/mspwlupd.htm

Anyone who uses passwords for just about anything -- network servers, 
dialup networking, remote registry services -- should get this patch.

For a rough start at a technical discussion of the problem that this 
patch is supposed to solve, see http://www.c2.org/hackmsoft/ or the 
gopher list archive below.

The Web page says it uses a 128-bit key. Intriguing. Anyone seen the CJR, 
or is Microsoft exempt?

Microsoft had told various people that the new security algorithm would be
published in advance and reviewed by outside security experts, but I have
not been able to verify this. 

This was supposed to affect Windows for Workgroups as well; anyone know 
anything about that?

- -rich
 owner-win95netbugs at lists.stanford.edu
 ftp://ftp.stanford.edu/pub/mailing-lists/win95netbugs/
 gopher://quixote.stanford.edu/1m/win95netbugs
 http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~llurch/win95netbugs/faq.html

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