|
Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
|
 Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 5:36 am Post subject: WORM_ZOTOB, BOTZOR.EXE WINDOWS 2000 |
 |
|
| Quote: |
New Internet worm affects Windows users - Trend Micro
Mon Aug 15, 2005 6:41 AM ET
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A new Internet virus has been detected that can infect Microsoft's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Windows platforms faster than previous computer worms, said an anti-virus computer software maker.
The ZOTOB virus appeared shortly after the world's largest software maker warned of three newly found "critical" security flaws in its software, including one that could allow attackers to take complete control of a computer.
The latest worm exploits security holes in Microsoft's Windows 95, 98, ME, NE, 2000 and XP platforms and can give computer attackers remote access to affected systems, said Trend Micro Inc. (4704.T: Quote, Profile, Research).
"Hundreds of infection reports were sighted in the United States and Germany," Tokyo-based Trend Micro said in a statement released late last week.
"Since most users may not be aware of this newly announced security hole so as to install the necessary patch during last weekend, we can foresee more infections from WORM_ZOTOB," it said.
The latest virus drops a copy of itself into the Windows system folder as BOTZOR.EXE and modifies the system's host file in the infected user's computer to prevent the user getting online assistance from antivirus web sites, Trend Micro added.
It can also connect to a specific Internet relay chat server and give hackers remote control over affected systems, which can be used to infect other unpatched machines in a network and slow down the network performance.
Last Tuesday, Microsoft issued patches to fix its security flaws as part of its monthly security bulletin. The problems affect the Windows operating system and Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser.
Microsoft has warned that an attacker could exploit a vulnerability in its Internet Explorer Web browser and lure users to malicious Web pages, and could run a software code on the user's PC giving the attacker control of the affected computer.
Computer users should update their anti-virus pattern files and apply the latest Microsoft patches to protect their computer systems, Trend Micro said.
More than 90 percent of the world's PCs run on the Windows operating system and Microsoft has been working to improve the security and reliability of its software. |
Zotob worm targets Windows 2000 |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 6:36 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
Week in review: Worm wallops Windows
Published: August 19, 2005, 8:12 AM PDT
By Steven Musil
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
A new worm initially thought to be pretty harmless ended up mutating into a series of worms that could shut down Windows PCs, leading some to believe that a war among hackers was to blame.
The original Zotob.A was unleashed over the weekend, wreaking relatively little havoc. As of Monday morning on the West Coast, the original worm had infected about 50 computers worldwide, and the first variant, Zotob.B, had compromised about 1,000 systems.
However, by Tuesday the worm had evolved into a greater annoyance, shutting down computers running Microsoft's Windows 2000 operating system. Computers across the United States were hit, including those at cable news station CNN, television network ABC and The New York Times. Symptoms of infection include the repeated shutdown and rebooting of a computer.
Without any user interaction, the worms can infect unpatched Windows 2000 systems that aren't protected by a firewall. The worms typically install a shell program on the computer to download the actual worm code using FTP, or File Transfer Protocol. The newly infected system then starts searching for new computers to compromise.
The worm, which has spawned several variants, exploits a hole in the plug-and-play feature in the Windows operating system. It surfaced only days after Microsoft offered a fix for the "critical" bug as part of its monthly patching cycle.
Some at CNET News.com found irony in some media outlets' coverage of the worm. "CNN should be embarrassed," wrote Timothy Beckner in News.com's TalkBack forum. "Their IT people could have patched them last week."
"How (Bill) Gates and (Steve) Ballmer get any sleep every night is beyond me."
--Carl Johnson
Some theorize that the recent surge in worms could be part of an underground battle to hijack PCs for use in Net crimes. Signs of a turf war between cybercrooks lie in the behavior of the worms that have emerged since Sunday, said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure, a Finnish security software company.
The dozen or so worms and variants all exploit the same security hole, but some versions undo the effects of earlier worms, suggesting that the creators are battling to take over computers that others have already compromised, Hypponen said.
"We seem to have a bot war on our hands," Hypponen said. "There appear to be three different virus-writing gangs turning out new worms at an alarming rate, as if they were competing to build the biggest network of infected machines."
In response to the havoc, Microsoft made available a free software tool to help victims of worms that hit Windows computers in the past days clean their systems. The tool can be run online through Microsoft's Web site or downloaded from the Microsoft Download Center. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
