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Computer
Help Desk - New MyDoom variant
It’s a full-time job working
to combat the slew of viruses that attack millions of
computers all over the world. Unfortunately, the task
appears to be getting tougher as hackers become more
creative in their devious practices.
A couple months ago, a new variant of the MyDoom worm
appeared with a different approach to infiltrating your
system. MyDoom is a destructive virus that spreads itself
when unsuspecting users open files attached to infected
email.
The subject line often includes: “Mail Delivery
system,” “Test,” “Server report,”
and “Hello,” among others.
The old method was to send an attachment with the destructive
virus waiting to do harm as soon as you opened it. New
anti-virus patches for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer
browser would fight the danger head-on and prevent you
from ever having to worry about it. However, the latest
threat actually sent an email encouraging you to click
on a link in the body of the message. The link takes
you to a site where the virus is waiting to do its damage.
You (unknowingly) go to the virus, the virus doesn’t
come to you.
Some emails posing as reputable companies send messages
that can easily trick an unsuspecting consumer into
clicking on the link. One fake email says:
“Congratulations! PayPal has successfully
charged $175 to your credit card. Your order tracking
number is A866DEC0, and your item will be shipped within
three business days. To see details please click this
link.”
What scares Microsoft most is the fact that this new
variant was released before a patch could be made. Usually,
a patch is made available before the virus reaches the
public. Unfortunately, the time difference between the
knowledge of a security flaw and the creation of a virus
has shortened significantly, says Stuart McClure, president
and CTO of Foundstone Strategic Security. Only two years
ago, Microsoft would be aware of the flaw and be well
on its way to creating a new patch four to six weeks
before the virus was unleashed.
“For the first six months of this year, (that
time difference) was about 5.8 business days, and in
the most recent case it was just two days,” says
Alfred Huger, senior director of engineering with Symantec
Calgary. “The problem is that it is extremely
difficult for a vendor to put out a patch in that short
of a time.”
Those who have Service Pack 2 for Windows XP already
have certain protections against the new MyDoom worm,
but Microsoft is still investigating how serious a threat
this virus poses.
Here at Iserv, we are also working to protect you from
viruses through our Tier 1 Data Center. Iserv stops
an average of four viruses per minute
each day using a variety of virus filters. Our team
updates these filters multiple times each day to catch
the latest viruses before they have the opportunity
to threaten your system.
To make sure your system is as safe as possible,
Iserv also recommends that customers use anti-virus software such as Norton AntiVirus, McAfee or AVG Anti-Virus.
For more information on protecting your business from
viruses, please contact a business account manager at
888-644-7378.
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Top 10 Viruses and Hoaxes
The top ten viruses in December 2004 were as follows:
| 1. |
W32/Zafi-D |
36.8% |
| 2. |
W32/Sober-I |
20.7% |
| 3. |
W32/Netsky-P |
15.5% |
| 4. |
W32/Zafi-B |
8.6% |
| 5. |
W32/Netsky-D |
2.8% |
| 6. |
W32/Netsky-Z |
2.5% |
| 7. |
W32/Bagle-AA |
2.0% |
| 8. |
W32/Netsky-B |
1.7% |
| 9. |
W32/Netsky-AD |
1.2% |
| 10. |
W32/MyDoom-O |
1.0% |
| Others |
.2% |
"Zafi-D is December's only new entry, and it has
moved to the top of the chart, overshadowing the once
dominant Netsky-P and Zafi-B. Although it was only discovered
mid-month, Zafi-D caused major havoc during the holidays,
accounting for more than a third of all virus reports
in December," said Gregg Mastoras, senior security
analyst at Lynnfield, MA-based, Sophos, Inc. "Zafi-D
tricked large numbers of users into opening an attachment
thinking it was a joke when actually, they were launching
malicious code."
"Only 24 hours after it was discovered, Zafi-D
accounted for more than 72% of all virus reports, and
one in ten emails were infected by the worm. It is quite
alarming to see a virus gain so much traction in such
a short amount of time. The damage could have been avoided
if users took precautionary measures by keeping their
anti-virus protection up-to-date," continued Mastoras.
The top ten hoaxes in December 2004 were as follows:
| 1. |
Hotmail hoax |
32.6% |
| 2. |
Meninas da Playboy |
9.7% |
| 3. |
A virtual card for you |
7.8% |
| 4. |
Elf Bowling |
5.4% |
| 5. |
Yahoo instant message |
4.2% |
| 6. |
Applebees Gift Certificate |
3.5% |
| 7. |
Bonsai kitten |
3.1% |
| 8. |
Budweiser frogs screensaver |
2.3% |
| 9. |
Jamie Bulger |
2.0% |
| 10. |
Bill Gates fortune |
1.5% |
| Others |
27.9% |
"The Christmas-themed Elf Bowling hoax re-entered
the chart in December. The hoax warned computer users
to be wary of emails containing a game called Elfbowl.exe,
which it claims to be a dangerous virus," continued
Mastoras. "Although there have been viruses disguised
as games, this warning is totally a fraud. However,
it is possible for the game to be infected by a virus
in the future and be redistributed via email. Users
should rely on information found on the websites of
reputable firms in order to keep up-to-date with the
latest threats."
Source: Sophos.com
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