virus

Fake Microsoft e-mail contains Trojan virus

Along with the vulnerabilities that Microsoft patched Tuesday, the software giant's customers have a new problem to grapple with: a fake notification e-mail that looks remarkably legitimate.

Attackers are apparently taking advantage of Microsoft's Patch Tuesday to send legitimate-looking e-mails that include a Trojan virus. Trojan.Backdoor.Haxdoor allows attackers to execute files and steal information from compromised computers. The fake mailing includes a legitimate-looking PGP signature, as well as purporting to come from a real Microsoft employee.

Christopher Budd, a security program manager in the Microsoft Security Response Center, offers this perspective on the e-mails in a … Read more

Virus prompts Asus to recall Japanese Eee Box PCs

You click OK on a message while surfing the Internet and suddenly your computer is full of malicious software and viruses. That's bad. What could be worse worse, however, is when your brand new computer comes preloaded with malicious software.

Tuesday, according to ChinaTechNews.com, Asus announced a recall of it's Asus Eee Box PCs that it had sold in Japan because it was shipped with a virus.

The computers had a file called recycled.exe, residing on the D drive. Once executed, the file would copy itself to other drives, including USB drives, and install malicious software … Read more

How to remove Antivirus XP 2008

Update: Revised instructions to include folder deletion.

Antivirus XP 2008 is back, unfortunately. It's not an antivirus app, but a cleverly disguised rogue security application that tries to get you to buy the non-existent "security" it's selling. Advertised using the common tricks of Trojans and faux security alerts, this nasty piece of malware can take over your desktop settings to mimic safe mode, display fake virus detections, and opens a faux Internet Explorer window stating that Google has detected a malware infection.

Yeah, Google.

Apparently, though, the virus is now being spread in more insidious ways, … Read more

Rising fraud threats in virtual worlds

Virtual worlds are playgrounds not just for people who want some online fantasy role-playing, but for cybercriminals who are looking for places to launder money and steal data, according to a new white paper from McAfee (PDF).

The in-game economies of virtual worlds are being hijacked by criminals who attempt to hide their profits through the exchange of virtual currencies, Dr. Igor Muttik, a senior architect at McAfee's Avert Labs says in a white paper entitled "Securing Virtual Worlds Against Real Attacks--The Challenges of Online Game Development."

"Typically, when a gaming account is compromised, attackers will … Read more

Space: The final frontier for computer viruses

The first ever reported computer virus has infected at least two laptops onboard the International Space Station more than 200 miles above Earth.

The worm, believed to be W32.Gammima.AG, steals personal information used to play online games from infected computers and then attempts to send the information back to a remote computer, according to SpaceRef.com, which broke the news on Monday.

The virus was not the first to hit a space station last month, just the first one that was reported, NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries told Wired News. He described it as a "nuisance" that … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 797: The superbug of piracy

Today's BOL Theory of the Day: the RIAA's constant crackdown on sites and services that ought to be fair use is creating cockroach-like, drug-resistant strains...like Opentape. Also, we reveal the Internet's biggest security hole, an iPhone ad is banned, and an iPhone app is banned (Apple only did the second one). Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 797

Google tests custom highlights, comments in search http://tech.slashdot.org/tech/08/08/27/1531241.shtml

Revealed: The Internet’s biggest security hole http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/08/revealed-the-in.html

Computer viruses make it … Read more

Avoid getting blitzed by Facebook spam

Like my colleague, CNET News' Caroline McCarthy, I've noticed a worrisome uptick in the amount of spam splatting against my Facebook Wall. It also nestles into my in-box in the form of a courtesy e-mail message prompting me to read my Wall.

While Facebook seems to have internal methods to resolve the malicious spam that has hijacked my friends' accounts, the only other recourse they offer is to update your antivirus software against an attack. That's too late. You want to block it before it ever drops its malware payload, and that means installing software that's designed … Read more

Facebook appears to be controlling 'wall spam'

On Sunday, I had an e-mail alert about someone writing on my Facebook wall--a college acquaintance with whom I hadn't spoken in quite some time. As it turns out, I was a victim of "wall spam," a recent phenomenon on Facebook in which automated spam posts show up on members' message walls. It's similar to a wave of profile spam that swept News Corp.'s MySpace a few years ago.

The message in question read, "Some thinks you are special and has a hot^crush on you. Find out who it could be!! ;)" with … Read more

The 404 160: Where we're Ogg at heart

On the show today: Erica Ogg from CNET's Crave takes time out of her NY vacation to chat with us about the Olympics, hockey, Chinese smile deficiencies, Facebook spam, Barack Obama's twitters, Antivirus XP, and Batman spoilers!>

Even though the Montauk Monster has thrown New York into a typhoon, our buddy Erica Ogg still makes it to the studio to join us for today's show. And what a great change of pace from our normal Monday show, huh? This is just what The 404 needs to brighten up our day. Erica writes for Crave, CNET's … Read more