can Windows 2003 get a virus?

[lordsmurf]

First off...
THIS IS SERVER OS ONLY
NOT HOME/OFFICE DESKTOP OS

Now then...
How many Windows 2003 server viruses are out there?
What kind of damage can they do?
Are there any big new ones from 2006? How common are they?
What causes them to infect a server, how do they get in?

[Snakebyte1]

Win2003 Server is likely just as susceptible to a virus as WinXP, in most cases. Note that when Microsoft issues a security patch it is often issued for all current Win versions (ie Win2000, XP and 2003). Not always, but often. Since many viruses take advantage of these vulnerabilities, if the vulnerability exists in XP and 2003, for example, the virus would in most cases be able to infect 2003.

I haven't see or heard of a virus specifically targetting Win2003 Server, but there could be.

Also, being a server, it could be argued that it would be less common to be infected than a home PC because there are administrators whose job it is to see that is fully patched, has up-to-date AV def files, is hardened (ie all unrequired ports and services disabled, strong passwords used, security policies in place etc) and is behind a firewall. If this is done it is less likely for the server to get a virus.

However, if a company is lax in applying patches, let's its AV get out of date, doesn't harden its servers etc, then they can get hit hard, and that's when you hear about it in the papers. I was a LAN admin for a smallish company awhile back and one day our IIS server got hit with a virus because it wasn't patched. I tell you, after that I made sure the patches were on all the servers and workstations, the AV on and up-to-date, ports shut down etc. Later, I think it was the I LOVE YOU virus sweep the world but we didn't have any problems with it.

Usually, from what I have seen, a virus gets onto a corporate workstation or more likley, from a users personal laptop (not patched and no AV) which they connected to the network. The virsus often comes from an attachment EXE which no matter how many times you tell users not to open those things they still do. Once the laptop the virsus then spreads itself over the network shares, on to other workstations and servers. Larger companies will disable the Windows file-sharing (as virsus like to use that) and use third party services.

[lordsmurf]

As I understand it, there is no analogy between server OS and desktop OS. So you really cannot draw conclusions about server OS based on what happens in the world of desktop OS.

[Snakebyte1]

I beg to differ.

If you are talking about Unix based SUN servers, that is one thing, but a Windows-Intel based server really not that much more than a regular PC

Windows 2003 Server and Windows XP are very much close cousins, and share a lot of the same code. You can run Win2003 on a typical PC (in fact many places run it on typical workstation-class PCs). Its just optimized for its role, whether its a web server, file sharing, print server etc.

[Snakebyte1]

I'd like to point out that my earlier comments were not a conclusion or extrapolation drawn from what happens in the desktop world, but rather from actual events. I've been administering Windows-based servers going on 9 years now and I've seen what happens. User brings in virus by e-mail (usually accessing web-mail of their own presonal account as corp mail gets scanned) or on a laptop, which infects any Windows based machine that is not patched and/or running AV - desktop or server.

Our newest server is a quad-processsor Xeon with 8GB of RAM (DELL PowerEdge 6850) on which I just installed Windows 2003 Server Enterprise Edition. And just like a desktop, I had to install of the MS security patches. And just like the desktops I had to install our corporate anti-virus app, because even though this machine, like all the other servers, is secured in a server farm and behind firewalls it can and will become infected by virus coming from another machine if its not protected.

Windows is basically Windows. A Windows Server OS is basically the same as a Desktop OS. Take one of your PCs, borrow a copy of Windows2003 Server and install it and take a look. It has DLLs, EXEs, COMs etc. .It has a registry. It is optimized and includes more services but essentially its the same.

We also have several SUN boxes running Sun Solaris. I do not administer those but I know they have security patches that must be applied every month or so. I don't think a Windows based virus would be able to infect a Solaris OS.

[OmegaSupreme]

W2003 can catch 99.99% of the viruses and trojans that affect XP plus a bunch more. The latest MS patch release had 12 critical updates for my 2003 servers. Most W2003 servers run 24/7 and have services/apps that also run 24/7 and are actively listening for connections/requests providing a bigger opportunity for infection. It is doubly import to keep up with server patches and to disable services that you are not using. Services/Apps that have been targeted in the past include, but are not limited to, DNS, IIS, FTP, routing and remote access, Exchange, SQL server and DHCP.

[Abbadon]

Hi,

I am surprised you made this question, of course Windows 2003 can get a virus.

Several worms and viruses use port connections to spread, if you have not configure a firewall to block incoming connections, your machine can get infected in a matter of seconds once you connect to the internet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_worm

Did you ever heard of buffer overflow ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer_overflow

Just the act of chatting with that hot latina through IM can get you an infection ( LOL )

[CrayonEater]

It is probably less likely to get a virus in the sense that you usually won't have a user browsing the net with an open door like Internet Explorer. But, yes, it is just a susceptible to virii and code injection as any other OS.

In fact, advisories for exactly such flaws were publicized just a few days ago:

http://secunia.com/advisories/20639/
http://secunia.com/advisories/20630/

[Dv8ted2]

It is probably less likely to get a virus in the sense that you usually won't have a user browsing the net with an open door like Internet Explorer. But, yes, it is just a susceptible to virii and code injection as any other OS.

In fact, advisories for exactly such flaws were publicized just a few days ago:

http://secunia.com/advisories/20639/
http://secunia.com/advisories/20630/

Have you ever heard of proxy servers? There are still users that use internet exploder and use proxy servers. This is a recipe for disaster.

[MOVIEGEEK]

just the act of chatting with that hot latina through IM can get you an infection ( LOL )

What's her number?

If Windows is connected to the internet/intranet it can get viruses,trojans,etc....period.

[lordsmurf]

W2003 can catch 99.99% of the viruses and trojans that affect XP plus a bunch more. The latest MS patch release had 12 critical updates for my 2003 servers. Most W2003 servers run 24/7 and have services/apps that also run 24/7 and are actively listening for connections/requests providing a bigger opportunity for infection. It is doubly import to keep up with server patches and to disable services that you are not using. Services/Apps that have been targeted in the past include, but are not limited to, DNS, IIS, FTP, routing and remote access, Exchange, SQL server and DHCP.

Specifically, this is the type of response I was looking for. Thanks.
Thanks to everybody else too.