Malware: Archive: January 2003

Red Hat Moves to Fix Kerberos FTP Flaw

Linux technology vendor Red Hat announces a fix for a vulnerability found in the Kerberos network authentication system that could allow a malicious ftp server to execute commands as the user running the ftp client.

Slammer Damage May Top $1 Billion

Digital attacks, including worms and viruses, have caused more than $8 billion in damages worldwide in January, a U.K. security firm reports, with the Slammer virus alone costing about $1 billion.

Virus Alert: Worms On Loose, SubSeven Backdoor Update

Several worms were making the rounds Thursday, and the latest versions of the SubSeven Backdoor virus drop a small starter program into Windows.

Viruses, Trojans Exploiting Outlook Idiosyncrasy

Advances in content filtering techniques are prompting virus authors and Trojan writers to resort to exploiting the veiled quirkiness of email software.

Virus Alert: Warding Off Slammer

As security vendors continue to give the SQLSlammer worm a high risk rating, Microsoft has provided several downloads on products that include its SQL Desktop Engine (MSDE) 2000 to make it easier for users to update their MSDE 2000 installations to SP2 and SP3.

E-mail Down Under

The huge spam problem is making it difficult for some companies to manage their inboxes.

Slammer Attack Wanes But Debate Heats Up

After tying up email and online business for nearly three days, the attack of the Slammer worm seems to be over.

Internet Recovering From Slammer Attack

The Internet was recovering Monday from a virulent worm attack that slowed or halted Web traffic around the world this weekend.

Virus Alert: More Slammer Details

SQLSlammer takes advantage of a vulnerability in SQL Servers to send Denial of Service attacks against corporate network servers. Find out if your network is protected.

Computer Worm Slows Worldwide Traffic

A worm that attacks the Microsoft SQL Server 2000-based web servers virtually halts traffic in some parts of the world. But security experts have known about it since July.

CERT Details Flaw in Concurrent Versions System

The organization says a vulnerability in the open software server renders users susceptible to arbitrary code runs and denial-of-service attacks.

Cisco Snaps Up Security Software Maker

Looking to boost its security software portfolio, Cisco shells out $154 million in stock for Okena.

Virus Alert: Return of the Roron.P Worm

Roron.P, a powerful e-mail, peer-to-peer and network worm with password stealing and backdoor capabilities, has resurfaced.

Virus Alert: Backdoor Maz Wreaking Havoc

A large amount of emails was sent out Wednesday in a new attempt to distribute the Maz/Jeem backdoor.

Aberdeen Predicts Doubling of Attacks and Spam

Batten down the hatches. Security incidents -- everything from viruses and worms to hacks and insider sabotage -- are expected to skyrocket in 2003, according to a new report out by the Aberdeen Group, an industry analyst firm based in Boston.

Virus Alert: Email Worm Redlof.B. Lurking

A new email worm called Redlof.B., or VBS_Redlof.B., was making the rounds Wednesday, according to security vendors Panda Software and Trend Micro. This new malicious code is a variant of Redlof.A, which tops the list of the virus most frequently detected in Asia.

Virus Alert: Dasmin Trojan Lingers

The UPX-packed Trojan reported last week by mobile enterprise security vendor F-Secure remains active in the wild.

Virus Alert: Latest Trojan a Low Risk

A backdoor Trojan that allows complete access to an infected computer was reported Friday by Symantec. While the Backdoor.Massaker virus is rated a low risk, it can cause system instability and compromise security settings.

Virus Alert: Visual Basic Trojan Steals Passwords

Symantec reports the appearance of Trojan.PWS.QQPass.D, which steals passwords and user information. The Trojan requires the presence of Microsoft Visual Basic run-time libraries to run.

Spammer Exposes Customer Data

A seller of pirated Norton software, who inundates the Net with spam touting his cheap prices, leaves open a back door to buyers' personal information -- and officials say it happens all the time.

Special Report: Frauds, Scams and the Flimflam-Man

Virus Alert: Sahay Worm Debuts

Security vendor McAfee reports the appearance of the Sahay worm, which spreads by attaching itself to EXE files and mailing itself to addresses in the Outlook Address Book.

Microsoft Updates Security Threat System

In an attempt to help users identify the most serious threats to their networks, Microsoft Corp. has added another category to its security rating system.

Virus Alert: Opasoft Worm Back

A backdoor network worm first detected four months ago resurfaces, while Symantec reports the emergence of a new Trojan horse.

Virus Alert: Dasmin Arrives

Mobile enterprise security vendor F-Secure announces the arrival of Dasmin, a simple UPX-packed Trojan that installs itself to Windows System folder as two separate files.

Virus Alert: 4 Worms Wiggling Around

Four Windows worms including Lirva.A, ExploreZip.E, Lirva.B and the latest, Sobig, were out Friday in full force, earning 'Level 2' alerts from F-Secure.

Virus Alert Activity Intensifies

Just one day after the anti-virus community was abuzz with a double virus alert, two more alerts went up Friday.

Virus Battles Erupt On 2 Fronts

Two major viruses have hit at the same time, wreaking some havoc in the anti-virus community and forcing network and security administrators to fight two battles at once.

Virus Alert: W32.Lirva.A Risk Upgraded

The mass-mailing worm W32.Lirva.A, first discovered earlier this week, has been upgraded today by Symantec Security Response from a Category 2 threat to Category 3.

Virus Alert: Naith By Any Other Name

MessageLabs is now stopping a new mass-mailing virus. Initial analysis suggests comments in the code are familiar, so it is likely to be re-assigned to an existing family. For now, MessageLabs is calling it 'Naith.'

Report: Internet Security Threats Will Get Worse

A new Internet risk assessment report paints a grim picture of the state of Internet security and warns of persistent threats to come from new forms of mass-mailing worms.

Virus Alert: Killer Trojan Horse On Loose

A new virus discovered on Tuesday targets antivirus and firewall programs and is written in Delphi.

Virus Alert: Outlook Mass-Mailing Worm

The latest in viruses is W32.HLLW.GOP.F@mm, a mass-mailing worm that uses Microsoft Outlook to send itself to all contacts in Outlook Address Book, according to Symantec.

Symantec Warns of Word Macro Virus

Security software vendor Symantec is warning of a virus dubbed Killboot that infects Microsoft Word documents and renders an infected computer unable to boot up.

Threat Upgraded as Yaha Worm Spreads

Hanging on through the new Year, the threat of the Yaha computer virus has been upgraded.