Bugs & Viruses Archive

I checked my email this morning. The tally: 80 spams, 65 emails asking me to "See the attached file for details," and 6 legitimate emails. This worm thing is getting ridiculous. Has anyone else noticed a big spike today?

Delfim Machado made public a way of crashing a password-protected screensaver and thus giving full access to the user account that the screensaver was running under. All a user has to do is to keep pressing any key for 5 minutes or so and then pressing Enter. Delfim Machado contacted Apple's Security department with his discovery, but when he didn't hear back, he decided to go public.

Microsoft on Monday will detail a future version of Windows that will make it easier to detect and isolate viruses. Read the article at News.com.

DesktopLinux.com talks with CEO Kevin Peer of top Linux antivirus vendor Central Command to discover where vulnerabilities exist, the cost to companies, and the growing interest in Linux from virus writers.

ExtremeTech runs a story where explains the measures Intuit has taken in its latest version of its TurboTax software in order to escape pirating. Except the DRM issues arose, the software writes on sector 33, without asking the user. On many computers, there could be partitioning information, or even important data on your alternative OS.

Fred Langa contends that some Linux proponents harm their cause by hiding from the facts--it's just as buggy as Windows XP: "As much as the partisans wish it were so, open sourcing isn't a magic solution to the problems of bugs and security issues. As Linux and other open-source software grow in popularity and extend into a fragmented, uncontrolled mass marketplace, they will inevitably have their own full share of bugs and security problems, same as with any other software. Anyone who tells you differently, or tries to convince you that their favorite operating system is somehow immune to market forces, human error, and plain malice, is doing both you and the operating system they espouse a disservice."

"Microsoft accidentally sent the virulent Nimda worm to South Korean developers when it distributed Korean-language versions of Visual Studio .Net that carried the virus, the company acknowledged Friday. Microsoft's flagship developer tools picked up the digital pest when a third-party company translated the program into Korean, said Christopher Flores, lead product manager for Visual Studio .Net." Read the story at C|Net News.

A new virus called Simile.D may not be much of a threat to computer systems, but some of its technical tricks could lead to a rethinking of the principles underlying antivirus software. Read the story at C|Net.

"Antivirus software vendors said Monday they don't want to create a loophole in their security products to let the FBI or other government agencies use a virus to eavesdrop on the computer communications of suspected criminals. Under a project code-named "Magic Lantern," the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is creating an e-mail-borne virus or Trojan horse that hides itself on the computer and captures all keystrokes made, including passwords that could be used to read encrypted mail. Despite subsequent reports to the contrary, officials at Symantec and Network Associates said they had no intention of voluntarily modifying their products to satisfy the FBI. Spokesmen at two other computer security companies, Japan-based Trend Micro and the U.S. subsidiary of U.K.-based Sophos made similar statements." Read the rest of the story on ZDNews.

Sophos, a world leader in corporate anti-virus protection, has revealed that just two viruses, Nimda and Sircam, accounted for almost 50% of the reports received by Sophos's helpdesk during 2001. Code Red, the most hyped virus of the year, does not even appear in the top ten. Sophos has detected 11,160 new viruses, worms and Trojan horses to date this year, bringing the total protected against to almost 70,000. On average, the Sophos virus labs produce detection routines for over 30 viruses each day.