MESSAGE
| DATE | 2009-01-21 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] BBC is just full of good news today
|
Got vista?
Windows worm trickery for Vista
Autorun screenshot
The "Open folder" option appears in the "Install or run program" list
The Conficker virus has opened a new can of worms for security experts.
Drives such as USB sticks infected with the virus trick users into
installing the worm, according to researchers.
The "Autoplay" function in Vista and early versions of Windows 7
automatically searches for programs on removable drives.
However, the virus hijacks this process, masquerading as a folder to be
opened. When clicked, the worm installs itself.
It then attempts to contact one of a number of web servers, from which
it could download another program that could take control of the
infected computer.
Bad guys
The worm is unusually clever in the way that it determines what server
to contact, according to F-Secure's chief research officer Mikko
Hypponen.
"It uses a complicated algorithm which changes daily and is based on
timestamps from public websites such as Google.com and Baidu.com," said
Mr Hypponen in a blog post.
"This makes it impossible and/or impractical for us good guys to shut
them all down — most of them are never registered in the first place.
"However, the bad guys only need to predetermine one possible domain for
tomorrow, register it, and set up a website — and they then gain access
to all of the infected machines," he added.
It has also emerged that the virus automatically disables the automatic
updates to Windows that would prevent further infection.
As the virus - also known as Downadup - has spread to an estimated 9m
computers globally, a number of high-profile instances of the virus have
arisen.
The Ministry of Defence has been battling an outbreak of the virus
across its network for more than two weeks, and on Tuesday a network of
hospitals across Sheffield told technology website The Register that
more than 800 of their computers had been infected.
Users are urged to download the KB958644 Security Update from Microsoft
to mitigate the risk of infection.
--
http://www.mrbrklyn.com - Interesting Stuff
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://fairuse.nylxs.com DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
"Yeah - I write Free Software...so SUE ME"
"The tremendous problem we face is that we are becoming sharecroppers to our own cultural heritage -- we need the ability to participate in our own society."
"> I'm an engineer. I choose the best tool for the job, politics be damned.<
You must be a stupid engineer then, because politcs and technology have been attached at the hip since the 1st dynasty in Ancient Egypt. I guess you missed that one."
© Copyright for the Digital Millennium
|
|
