Windows flaw affects PC games
06-08-04 | 05:43 PM
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Windows flaw affects PC games
FYI: Not sure how big of a deal this really is
Microsoft Says Windows Flaw Crashes Online Games
By Tiernan Ray
June 8 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp., which is battling Sony Corp. for control of the $8 billion video game hardware market, said a flaw in its Windows operating system software allows a hacker to shut down online video games.
A flaw in most versions of the Windows operating system would let a hacker shut down video games that are based on Microsoft's “DirectPlay” technology. It lets players compete against each other over networks including the Internet, Microsoft said in a statement on its Web site.
The flaw doesn't affect Microsoft's Xbox game console, Stephen Toulouse, security program manager for Microsoft, said.<
Microsoft in May convinced Electronic Arts Inc., the largest video game maker, to make copies of its games for Xbox playable over the Internet to compete with Sony's PlayStation 2 machine, which also supports online games. Microsoft in March announced technology making Xbox game development more like writing for personal computers. The Xbox is based on a version of Windows and has computer chips to prevent it from being hacked.msg<
John Lampe, a security researcher with software maker Tenable Network Security of Columbia, Maryland, said he brought the flaw to Microsoft's attention in mid-March. He said he observed the flaw while testing the game “Age of Empires” developed by Microsoft.
Microsoft made available a software patch for the flaw at its Web site and said newer games are written with a different version of DirectPlay that doesn't have the flaw.
The flaw doesn't affect the running of the operating system or other programs running on top of it, Toulouse said.
By Tiernan Ray
June 8 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp., which is battling Sony Corp. for control of the $8 billion video game hardware market, said a flaw in its Windows operating system software allows a hacker to shut down online video games.
A flaw in most versions of the Windows operating system would let a hacker shut down video games that are based on Microsoft's “DirectPlay” technology. It lets players compete against each other over networks including the Internet, Microsoft said in a statement on its Web site.
The flaw doesn't affect Microsoft's Xbox game console, Stephen Toulouse, security program manager for Microsoft, said.<
Microsoft in May convinced Electronic Arts Inc., the largest video game maker, to make copies of its games for Xbox playable over the Internet to compete with Sony's PlayStation 2 machine, which also supports online games. Microsoft in March announced technology making Xbox game development more like writing for personal computers. The Xbox is based on a version of Windows and has computer chips to prevent it from being hacked.msg<
John Lampe, a security researcher with software maker Tenable Network Security of Columbia, Maryland, said he brought the flaw to Microsoft's attention in mid-March. He said he observed the flaw while testing the game “Age of Empires” developed by Microsoft.
Microsoft made available a software patch for the flaw at its Web site and said newer games are written with a different version of DirectPlay that doesn't have the flaw.
The flaw doesn't affect the running of the operating system or other programs running on top of it, Toulouse said.
