WastedTimes
Username:   Password: 
Auto Login
  
WastedTimes
A Tribute to SameOLSam & The Limneos Forum
 
 RegisterRegister 
It is currently Mon 11 Nov, 2024
All times are UTC - 5 Hours
Researchers Warn of File-Destroying Worm


Users browsing this topic: 0 Registered, 0 Hidden and 0 Guests
Registered Users: None


View previous topic Printable versionDownload TopicPrivate MessagesRefresh page View next topic
Author Message
hbgator
Forum Administrator
Forum Administrator


Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Posts: 1221
Location: 2 blocks over
Researchers Warn of File-Destroying Worm
Reply to topic Reply with quote Go to the bottom
PostPosted: Tue 31 Jan, 2006

If you have computer files you'd rather not lose, now is a good time to make sure your anti-virus software is up to date. A worm set to activate Friday will corrupt documents using the most common file types, including ".doc," ".pdf," and ".zip."

Hundreds of thousands of machines are believed to be infected, mostly in India, Peru, Turkey and Italy, said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer for Finnish security company F-Secure Corp.

The worm, known as "CME-24," "BlackWorm," "Mywife.E" or a number of other monikers, even tries to disable anti-virus software that is out of date, he said.

Thus, users should make sure their software is turned on and has the latest definitions, generally available for free from the software vendor's Web site. F-Secure also has created a free removal tool.

"If you are infected, and you find out about it today, you still have time to get rid of the virus," Hypponen said.

As worms go, the spread of BlackWorm is relatively low. But worms these days are generally designed to help spammers and hackers carry out attacks, not to destroy files as this one does. So the impact this time may be more severe.

micros0ft Corp. issued an advisory Tuesday warning customers about the worm, which affects most versions of its Windows operating system.

Users should be safe if they have the latest anti-virus software or if their computers are set with limited privileges, a common setting in larger organizations. They are vulnerable if they, like many small business and home users, leave their computers set with full administrative rights.

And users should check the date on the computer. The worm hits the third of every month, so if the computer's local calendar settings are off, Hypponen said, files may be destroyed sooner or later, even if the computer is never turned on Friday
Back to top
jkf
Site Administrator
Site Administrator


Joined: 25 Nov 2005
Posts: 3454
Location: Your Right Temporal Lobe
(No subject)
Reply to topic Reply with quote Go to the bottom
PostPosted: Tue 31 Jan, 2006

Thanks for the heads up, hbgator.
I'll be running continuous scans from now until it
seems safe to go back into weekly full scans. Its
the people that are unprotected that usually end
up redistributing the payload back out to the public.
So I'm hoping that everyone will do their part and
stay on their toes.

jkf
_________________
jkf Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy

Back to top Personal Gallery of jkf
Display posts from previous:   
   Board Index
   -> Open Discussion, Open Discussion
View previous topic Printable versionDownload TopicPrivate MessagesRefresh page View next topic

Page 1 of 1  [ 2 Posts ]
 


Jump to:   
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
You cannot post attachments in this forum
You can download attachments in this forum

Search: