Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool - a program that removes malware from Windows machines - detected password-stealing software from more than 2 million PCs in the first week after it was updated.
One password stealer, called Taterf, alone was detected on 700,000 computers in the first day after the update. That's twice as many infections as were spotted during the entire month after Microsoft began detecting the notorious Storm Worm malware last September.
http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?newsID=101983
Urs
US-CERT has received reports of new phishing activity, some of which has been linked to Storm Worm. The latest activity is centered around messages related to the recent earthquake in China and the upcoming Olympic Games. This Trojan is spread via an unsolicited email message that contains a link to a malicious website. This website contains a video that, when opened, may run the executable file "beijing.exe" to infect the user's system with malicious code.
http://www.us-cert.gov/current/#new_storm_worm_variant_spreads2
Us
A variant of the Zlob virus has emerged that can tweak DNS entries on standard commercial routers from an infected Windows PC. It uses a built-in list of standard router usernames and passwords. Successful attacks have already been observed on Linksys BEFSX41 routers and a Buffalo router using DD-WRT open source firmware.
Attackers can then redirect all internet traffic to their own servers. For the criminals, the advantage to manipulating a router is that it is more difficult for normal users to detect than an attack against a PC. The virus makes its way onto the computer by posing as a video codec, palmed off on users by malicious web sites.
http://www.heise-online.co.uk/security/New-Zlob-variant-reconfigures-routers--/news/110928
The Microsoft Security Assessment Tool (MSAT) is a free tool designed to help organizations like yours assess weaknesses in your current IT security environment, reveal a prioritized list of issues, and help provide specific guidance to minimize those risks. MSAT is an easy, cost-effective way to begin strengthening the security of your computing environment and your busi-ness. Begin the process by taking a snapshot of your current security state, and then use MSAT to continuously monitor your infrastructure’s ability to respond to security threats.At Microsoft, the security of our customers’ networks, business servers, end-user computers, mobile devices, and data assets are a top priority. We are committed to providing security tools like MSAT to help you improve the security state of your busi-ness.MSAT is designed to help you identify and address security risks in your IT environment. The tool employs a holistic ap-proach to measuring your security posture and covers topics including people, process, and technology.MSAT provides:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=6D79DF9C-C6D1-4E8F-8000-0BE72B430212&displaylang=en
Many small- and medium-sized organizations use antivirus software, and yet new viruses, worms, andother forms of malicious software (malware) continue to infect large numbers of computers in theseOrganizations. Malware proliferates at alarming speed and in many different ways, which makes itParticularly widespread today. This guide is intended for IT Generalists who want information andrecommendations that they can use to effectively address and limit malware that infects computersIn small- and medium-sized organizations.
Using the Windows Pre-installation Environment (Windows PE), the Malware Removal Starter Kit givesCustomers the ability to discover malware by performing a thorough offline scan of their computers.Once malware is located and identified, administrators can quickly remove it from infected PCs withA number of free anti-malware tools, like the Malicious Software Removal Tool from Microsoft.
Read more about it: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/guidance/disasterrecovery/malware/default.mspx#EHD
You know you're a computer security professional when:
• Although you have no ill intent, you spend no small amount of your downtime in airports thinking of ways to circumvent TSA security -- and you've come up with several can't-miss terrorist ideas that even Jack Bauer couldn't stop.
• You lock your screensaver with twice as much insistence when security friends are around than when strangers are, because you're not nearly as worried about a stranger's intentions.
• You secretly hope you don't miss a big virus outbreak while you are out on vacation.
Read the rest… ;-)
http://weblog.infoworld.com/securityadviser/archives/2008/06/are_you_a_compu.html
"You secretly hope you don't miss a big virus outbreak while you are out on vacation." Thats the one I currently like the most! Tomorrow I will leave for vacation! :-) So have a good time!
Excerpt: The spread of wide-scale Internet surveillance has spurred interest in anonymity systems that protect users’ privacy by restricting unauthorized access to their identity. This requirement can be considered as a flow control policy in the well established field of multilevel secure systems. I apply previous research on covert channels (unintended means to communicate in violation of a security policy) to analyze several anonymity systems in an innovative way.
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/techreports/UCAM-CL-TR-706.pdf
Excerpt: This report, developed in collaboration with experts, aims to inform policy makers about malware impacts, growth and evolution, and countermeasures to combat malware. It seeks to analyze some of the main issues associated with malware and to explore how the international community can better work together to address the problem.Malicious Software (Malware): A Security Threat to the Internet Economy
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/53/34/40724457.pdf