Microsoft decides to prevent another potential WannaCry by disabling the SMBv1 protocol in Fall Creators Update

It has been without a doubt one of the news of the year, at least if we focus on the technological panorama. We are talking about the massive computer attack that under the name of WannaCry Decryptor caused terror in mid-May in a good number of companies (individuals, in its immense most were spared) including hospitals in the UK.

An attack that we have already talked about, with its consequences, its origins and that served above all to see and find out what the real situation of many computer systems isat the company level.They are not updated, despite the fact that they have already been notified and despite the important data that many of them handle. I still remember seeing the computer scientists from a nearby company working hard on the computers, doing what they hadn't done for many months.

An attack that took advantage of a Windows vulnerability already patched by Microsoft and that, given the importance of the problem, led to it even becoming to support versions already in disuse such as Windows XP and for which the company released another security patch.

An attack that, given the concern it has raised (many suspect it was nothing more than a test run for a larger and more effective attack) hashas caused Microsoft to have agreed to disable the SMBv1 (Server Message Blocks) protocol in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. An act that seeks to repeat a similar situation with another ransomware.

A decision with time

According to Bleeping Computer, this is not something they thought of in a short time, but rather it is a thoughtful and considered decision that was already on the table since 2014. That's what Ned Pyle, Principal Program Manager in the Microsoft Windows Server group says:

A decision that despite being made will not arrive until the third major update of Windows 10, also known as the Fall Creators Updatev (formerly Redstone 3). With the particularity also that it is not a patch, but a change. An update that will come even from clean installations and that is already being tested in builds of Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows Server 2016.

And in the meantime, and if you don't want to wait for the Fall Creators Update on Windows 10, you can always manually disable the SMBv1 protocol on your computerThanks to the guide on the Microsoft support pages.

Via | Bleeping Computer More information | Micrsooft In Xataka Windows | Windows 7 in the spotlight due to the spread of Wannacry Decryptor, even above Windows XP In Xataka Windows | It's difficult, but if Wanna Decryptor (or other malware) has infected your computer you can fight it with these p