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| Strength in Numbers | Worm warning: Frethem's running free and spreading fast | |
| IT systems need multiple virus protection
products to be fully protected from major virus outbreaks concluded
an independent study by GFI, and using a number of anti-virus packages
simultaneously provides the best protection against viruses. The study analysed five different products and found that no single anti-virus product is as effective as two or more used together to catch the complex threats. All products have strength in different areas and combing two or more products would provide a better shield against viruses. In the last few months, Norton failed to detect viruses in email attachments which were all in capitals, McAfee failed to trap the Klez virus and Network Associates had problems with BadTrans-b. All have resolved these issues, but for a period of time left their customers exposed to threats. GFI CEO Nick Galea said in a statement: "Many organisations don't deploy multiple scanning engines because they do not want to pay twice for two overlapping sets of tools." Richard Tolley Technical Director says “We have always recommended deploying multiple anti virus products and that they are kept up to date atleast daily with the latest virus definitions. Our email virus scanning service screens out all email born viruses which if coupled with a server and workstation anti virus solution will protect your organization better from all known virus threats” For reviews and links to purchase anti virus software see our report >> |
Another
little wriggler causes mayhem A new family of email worms that can
spread without users even clicking on an email attachment has been
discovered in the wild. The worm, called Frethem, does not carry a dangerous payload, but is already spreading quickly Anti-virus firm MessageLabs rate it as the eighth most prolific virus in the last 24 hours. Users can spot Frethem by the subject line "Your password!" and the message body: "ATTENTION!/You can access very important information by this password/DO NOT SAVE/password to disk use your mind/now press cancel." However the worm is programmed to spread when the email is opened, meaning users do not have to click on the attached file to spread the worm. It manages this by exploiting a well-known vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook email software which is still unpatched by many. Sophos said it had found six variants of the worm, one of which it found in the wild. Trend Micro said it rated the worm a high risk. Concerned users can find analyses of the worm at www.sophos.com/virusinfo and ww.trendmicro.com/vinfo/ Brian McEwan Marketing director said"We can only recommend all companies sign up to a hosting company which offers an email virus cleaning service which cleans email before it reaches the companies network. This sort of virus reaks havoc once it has penetrated your organisation." For more details see our feature on email virus cleaning>> |
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| Council worker sacked for wreaking virus havoc | Virus writers set their sights on your games console | |
| A
worker for Aberdeen City Council has been fired after he was found
to be the source of a virus which brought the council's computer systems
down for two days. A spokesman for Aberdeen Council said the incident, which was not just a case of an employee mistakenly opening a mass-mailing worm, was now in the hands of the police. The spokesman declined to give details of exactly what had happened, saying it was now a police matter. The virus is estimated to have wreaked up to £10,000 worth of damage, although the spokesman said there was no long-term effect on the computer systems. The council closed down all systems on Monday when the problem emerged, leaving council staff, already coping with a backlog of council house repairs, unable to access any files. Andrew Roberts of Discus Group advises all employers "Check your contracts of employment cover warn against such malicious acts." |
Microsoft's Xbox and other game consoles
could become virus writers' next targets, according to top anti-virus
experts.
Security specialists have warned that viruses could spread easily to other consoles if they are linked with one another via the internet and built with very little security in mind. The Xbox in particular could be hit as Microsoft is a favourite target of many virus writers, according to Jack Clarke, product manager at anti-virus specialist McAfee. He said: "There are millions of Xboxes connected together via the internet. It's almost too easy to spread viruses via these consoles. We don't know how it will spread yet, but we are fully aware that any Microsoft product makes a tempting target." Security is especially lax, making it easier to infiltrate. Clarke said: "I know Microsoft has not thought about the security of the Xbox much yet, but I am sure they will realise soon that there are too many people connected to one another via an insecure platform." However, Natasha Staley, technical consultant at Sophos, claimed a virus threat is not imminent. "Technically, it is viable that a virus could infect a games console but we have not seen any viruses written specifically for games consoles to date. Virus authors go for the easiest route to hitting as many users as possible and I don't think that games consoles facilitate this at present." |
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