Deconstructing Code

The Virus Underground

The Virus Underground
Mario starts up the tool to show me how it works. A little box appears on his laptop screen, politely asking me to name my Trojan. I call it the ''Clive'' virus. Then it asks me what I'd like the virus to do. Shall the Trojan Horse format drive C:? Yes, I click. Shall the Trojan Horse overwrite every file? Yes. It asks me if I'd like to have the virus activate the next time the computer is restarted, and I say yes again.

Posted by rshah on February 08, 2004| Comments (0)

Windows gets tough on spam, viruses

Windows gets tough on spam, viruses
The Windows Filter Manager Architecture is a set of application protocol interfaces (APIs) and code that will be added to Windows to handle some of the basic operational tasks of antivirus applications, such as how the application sets up an ordinary hard drive scan.

Posted by rshah on April 15, 2003| Comments (0)

Pop-up ad campaign from hell

Pop-up ad campaign from hell
Thousands of unsuspecting visitors to a family entertainment site are discovering a cornucopia of unwanted, potentially malicious software on their computers -- the result of a pop-up ad campaign, a booby-trapped Web site, a compromised Web browser, and strange doings at a shadowy Los Angeles company. Backdoor.Autoupder, as Symantec calls it, quietly made the software firm's list of the five most-prevalent viruses in April.

Posted by rshah on May 07, 2002| Comments (0)

Virus alerts lack standards

Virus alerts lack standards
The lack of consensus and standard threat-rating procedures for virus outbreaks was highlighted last week, when six of the major antivirus vendors issued six different threat levels for the Klez.E worm. All six vendors that issued warnings acknowledged the need for a standard warning system.

Posted by rshah on March 12, 2002| Comments (0)

Name That Worm - How Computer Viruses Get Their Names

Name That Worm - How Computer Viruses Get Their Names
Antivirus experts say there are specific guidelines for naming computer worms. Not surprisingly, the first rule dictates that the name should be anything other than what the virus writer wants it called. Beyond that, researchers look to the code, to its message, or the situation to name worms as they find them.

Posted by rshah on January 09, 2002| Comments (0)

New virus first to infect Macromedia Flash

New virus first to infect Macromedia Flash
Antivirus companies warned PC users Tuesday that future Macromedia Flash movies could carry malicious viruses and worms.

Posted by rshah on January 09, 2002| Comments (0)

Viruses are getting faster, tougher

Viruses are getting faster, tougher
One in every 300 e-mails circulating now contains a virus, up from one in every 700 in October last year, according to e-mail security company MessageLabs.

Posted by rshah on September 25, 2001| Comments (0)

Worms prompt AT&T to unplug sites

Worms prompt AT&T to unplug sites
To keep the spread of the Code Red worms from slowing down its cable Internet network, AT&T is blocking access to Web servers run by residential customers, a spokeswoman said.

Posted by rshah on August 09, 2001| Comments (0)

Officials fight Code Red worm

Officials fight Code Red worm
In an unprecedented show of force against an extremely virulent Internet attack, government and private officials will implore worldwide organizations to protect themselves from the "Code Red" worm.

Posted by rshah on July 30, 2001| Comments (0)

New worm sniffs out child porn

New worm sniffs out child porn
An e-mail worm that seeks out images of child pornography on PCs and alerts government agencies to positive findings has been released by British hackers intent on cleaning up the Internet.

Posted by rshah on May 31, 2001| Comments (0)

China Is Asking Software Firms To Provide Samples of Viruses

China Is Asking Software Firms To Provide Samples of Viruses
Security officials in Beijing have been requiring that in order to sell their products in China, leading antivirus-software companies must provide samples of destructive computer programs and rogue wiretap software from their research labs.

Posted by rshah on April 03, 2001| Comments (0)

Emergent virus can infect Windows, Linux

Emergent virus can infect Windows, Linux
A computer virus that can infect PCs running either the ubiquitous Windows operating system or the increasingly popular Linux operating system emerged Tuesday, the world's first, according to its discoverers. The virus, dubbed "W32.Winux," by Central Command, the antivirus company that first reported it, is not destructive and does not appear to have infected any computers yet.

Posted by rshah on March 28, 2001| Comments (0)

Lion" worm stalks Linux machines

Lion" worm stalks Linux machines
A dangerous worm that can steal passwords from Linux servers is rapidly spreading across the Internet and infecting other machines, see also Slashdot

Posted by rshah on March 26, 2001| Comments (0)

New virus packs a political punch

New virus packs a political punch
A handful of companies have been hit by a computer virus named Injustice that causes a victim's computer to send pro-Palestinian messages to 25 Israeli organizations and government agencies.

Posted by rshah on March 21, 2001| Comments (0)

Kit to make worms

Kit to make worms
A new version of VBS Worm Generator, the virus creation program used to write the Anna Kournikova worm in February, has been released by the program's creator. The new tool's ease of use -- including its remarkably lucid help file -- indicates the next generation of worms will reduce the number of copycat worms, which in turn will make them harder to contain once they are released in the wild.

Posted by rshah on March 19, 2001| Comments (1)

Fast-spreading code is weapon of choice for Net vandals

Fast-spreading code is weapon of choice for Net vandals
Four hours. That's how long it took for a glamorous tennis player to become the talk of the Net, for countless companies to shut down their e-mail gateways, and for a new virus to spread across the Atlantic.

Posted by rshah on March 15, 2001| Comments (0)

Palestinians Spread Viruses in Cyberwar Against Israel

Palestinians Spread Viruses in Cyberwar Against Israel
Palestinian supporters are using a combination of hacking tools and viruses to gain what appears to be the upper hand in the Middle East’s ongoing cyber war. They are distributing the tools and viruses for destroying Israeli sites using a recently created attack site.

Posted by rshah on December 04, 2000| Comments (0)