Researchers at Symantec have published a report highlighting how the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) -- a main component of Windows Update -- is being used by Trojans to download malware that bypasses firewalls and security controls.
BITS runs in the background and downloads patches to Windows without eating up all available bandwidth. Because it supports the HTTP protocol, it can be used to download almost any file, and Microsoft employs the technology for sending beta versions of its software such as Vista and Windows Server to testers.
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