Malware: Archive: December 2003

Worm Uses Email Addresses to Spread

Sophos Wednesday issued an alert for W32/Mimail-M, a worm that spreads via email using addresses harvested from the hard drive of the infected computer.

Worm Sends Messages via MSN Messenger

Some security vendors issued alerts Tuesdays for a new worm, W32/Jitux.A.worm, a malicious code designed to send messages via MSN Messenger.

DDoS Attacks

Bad as they ever were... and getting worse.

Viruses + Social Engineering = 2003

This past year the dangerous trend of shrouding viruses in social engineering techniques resulted in a trying year for network administrators. However, there are lessons to be learned from 2003 that you can take into 2004.

Worm Spreads Through E-Mail Addresses Collected From Files

Security vendor Central Command has issued an alert for Worm/Dumaru.E, a variation of the Worm/Dumaru.A, an Internet worm that spreads through e-mail addresses it collects in the files with the following extensions, .HTM .WAB .HTML .DBX .TBB .ABD and sends itself via its own SMTP engine.

Worm Arrives Through Email, Network Shares

Trend Micro has issued an alert for Worm_Cissi.A, a worm that arrives in two ways: via email or through network shares.

Worm Exploits Weakness on Unpatched Win95/98 Systems

Some antivirus software vendors Wednesday issued alerts for W32/Opaserv-S, a worm that spreads on Windows shares exploiting a weakness available on unpatched Win95/98 based systems.

Keylogging Trojan Sends Information to Remote Internet Address

Sophos Tuesday issued an alert for Troj/Tofger-L, a keylogging Trojan.

Do-Not-Spam Proves Popular Concept

Workable or unworkable, the idea is certainly a hit with consumers.

2003 'Worst Year Ever' for Viruses, Worms

In no other year have computer viruses and worms wreaked so much havoc and caused so much damage as in this past year, according to security analysts.

New Sober Worm Variant Spreading Rapidly

Security vendors Monday issued alerts for a new Sober worm variant, W32/Sober.C-MM, a mass mailing worm that uses its own SMTP engine to send itself to email addresses harvested from infected machines.

(Sober) Mutant Starts to Squirm

Mass-mailing worm comes with a German flavor and puts new PC users at higher risk.

More Wi-Fi Means More Attacks

The monitoring of the air at the Wi-Fi Planet Conference revealed fewer security attacks over all, but far more than before that were successful.

Spam Suit Highlights Need to Police Affiliates

Marketers accused of spamming blame a rogue affiliate.

Viruses + Social Engineering = 2003

This past year the dangerous trend of shrouding viruses in social engineering techniques resulted in a trying year for the infosec crowd. Lyne Bourque reviews some lessons to take into 2004.

Worm Sends Fake Email About Ebay Account

Several security vendors have issued alerts for W32/Cayam.worm!p2p, which spreads via email and file sharing networks.

Target Spam: NY AG, Microsoft File $38M Suits

UPDATE: The allies launch a massive legal offensive against a spam network allegedly responsible for sending more than 250 million junk e-mails daily.

Worm Sends Messages in English or German

Several vendors have issued alerts for Worm_Sober.B, which spreads by sending copies of itself via email, with varying subjects and message bodies that is either written in English or German.

Trojan Steals Passwords from Financial Sites, Among Others

Panda Software Wednesday issued an alert for Wincap.B, a password stealer type Trojan.

Bush Signs Can Spam Bill

UPDATE: With the stroke of the president's pen moving the legislation into law Tuesday, e-mail marketers will have to comply with new opt-out measures. But consumer groups question whether the bill has teeth.

Virus Infects VBS Script, Deletes and Renames Files

McAfee Tuesday issued a low-level alert for VBS/Calma, a virus that, upon opening the infected VBScript, the virus copies the file Cz0_32.dll.vbs to the windows directory.

IRC Trojan, Worm Targets Networks Protected with Weak Passwords

Sophos Monday issued an alert for W32/Agobot-BM, an IRC backdoor Trojan and network worm.

Linux in the Security Crosshairs

Experts say breaches at two popular Linux projects underscore one important fact: security affects everyone.

Trojan Sends Message via IM Message Window Popup

Trend Micro Friday issued a low-level alert for Troj_MSNMASMSG.A, a non-memory resident Trojan that may arrive on a target system as the file WIN.SCR.

What Does Can Spam Really Mean?

The clock is ticking on the Can Spam Act's becoming law, but questions remain unanswered.

Worm Sends Emails With Varying Subjects, Message Bodies, Attachments

Several antivirus vendors Thursday issued alerts for a new email virus called Scold.

FTC Imposes $1M Bonds on Spam Hustlers

Florida men settle charges that they sold thousands of completed loan applications to third parties without consumers consent.

Spam Battle's Shifting Sands

Enterprise spam protection vendors are locked in upgrade race, as Microsoft enters the fray in earnest.

Christmas Comes Early for Spammers

Congress passing the Can Spam Act of 2003 is tantamount to 'Christmas come early' for spammers, according to industry watchers.

Trojan Opens Random UDP Port to Reach Hacker

BackDoor-BAM is a detection for a remote access Trojan written in MSVC, according to Network Associates, which issued an alert Wednesday.

Landing One of the Hottest Jobs of 2004 -- IT Security

Resistant to outsourcing and based on the growing need to protect corporate information, one of the 'hottest jobs' for 2004 is the information security specialist. But the jobs aren't always easy to find, or easy to handle.

Trojan Displays Pornographic Material

Sophos Tuesday issued an alert for Troj/Zana-A, a small browser application that displays material containing pornographic content.

House Set to Finish Can Spam Act

Landmark legislation sets first national standards for regulating unsolicited commercial e-mail.

Worm Exploits Systems with Weak Passwords

Security vendors Monday issued alerts for a new strain of the Agobot worm, which also has backdoor capabilities.

Congress Sends Can Spam Act to White House

Landmark opt-out plan sets first national standards for regulating unsolicited commercial e-mail.

Wireless Marketers Try To Preempt Spam Deluge

Ads via text messaging have become a burgeoning phenom, but the mobile industry's major stakeholders are working to ensure rogue marketers don't spoil the party.

Worm Uses Outlook to Send Out Emails

Security vendors Symantec and McAfee have issued alerts for W32.Memas@mm, a mass-mailing worm that uses Microsoft Outlook to send itself to all the contacts in the Outlook Address Book.

Mimail Worm Still Spreading via Email

The Mimail virus continued to wreak havoc Thursday with several vendors reporting the appearance of yet another variant, W32/Mimail-M, which spreads via email using addresses harvested from the hard drive of the infected computer.

Mimail Family Overruns List of Top Viruses

Even though it didn't take the top spot for most frequent virus in November, the Mimail worm family took five of the top 10 spots.

MiMail Virus Attacking Anti-Spam Groups

The latest mutant has been programmed to launch a denial-of-service attack on anti-spam groups like the Spamhaus Project and SpamCops.

Worm Exploits Microsoft Vulnerabilities to Spread

Panda Software Wednesday issued a low-level alert for Gaobot.BK, a worm with backdoor characteristics that affects Windows 2003/XP/2000/NT computers only.

Mimail Variant Arrives as Email With 'Wendy' Attachment

The Mimail email worm is back in the news today with several security vendors issuing alerts for the latest variant, W32/Mimail-L.

A Very Security-Themed Week at Microsoft

Software giant highlights its TechNet security initiatives.

New Agobot Variant Spreads Through Open or Weakly Protected Network Shares

Several security vendors Monday issued alerts for W32/Agobot-AW, a network worm that also allows unauthorized remote access to the computer via IRC channels.

Spam for the Holidays

Marketers of all kinds have geared up for the big holiday shopping season.

Malware: Archive: December 2003

Topic Centers

Articles by Type

Contact Us

More Security