Last month a fast moving computer worm called Zotob attacked computers using Microsoft Windows, bringing worldwide networks to their knees. The damage could have easily been more extensive, like last year's Sasser virus, but wasn't. Interesting.

Zotob struck primarily Windows 2000 systems and some older versions of XP, exploiting a security hole in Windows’ plug-and-play feature causing infected computers to repeatedly shutdown and reboot.

Although most would agree that Microsoft's security practices are far from perfect, this incident might just suggest part of its strategy is working.

The worm hit Holden’s network and American media companies ABC and CNN, but most firms escaped unscathed. Interestingly, just days before the worm hit Microsoft provided a critical fix for the exact vulnerability. Zotob disabled mostly unpatched Windows 2002 machines.

In previous releases Microsoft enabled almost all features of the operating system whether customers needed them or not, attracting criticism from security conscious customers. Windows 2000 systems were hit particularly hard as they had the security vulnerability by default. In the latest Windows releases Microsoft has disabled features by default, forcing customers to enable desired features.

If you think your version of Windows needs security patches, visit the Microsoft website.