|
Favorits •
Web Domain Directory •
ODP •
Annuaire FR •
Directorio ES •
Directory EN •
Diretório PT •
IT Katalog •
Czech Katalog •
Polski Katalog •
Maps •
Satellite Photos •
View Card
|
||
|
|
Security |
|
|
| ||
 |
Three-pronged Trojan Attack Threatens Security on the Internet
Glieder (Win32.Glieder.AK), Fantibag (Win32.Fantibag.A) and Mitglieder (Win32.Mitglieder.CT) are not names of a modern day version of The Three Musketeers. These are Trojans engineered for a hacker attack that will infect computers and open them for use in further attacks. "Combating computer viruses is essentially a game of hide and seek," says Govind Rammurthy, CEO, MicroWorld Technologies, among the leading Security Solutions providers. "Hackers riding piggyback on viruses have only a short window of opportunity to maximize their gain before the viruses are detected, neutralized and logged into Virus Definition databases, 'vaccinating' the system against those strains. Without continuing system vulnerability caused by virus infection there is little they can do to further their malicious ends like stealing personal information, credit card details and other sensitive and vital data. To achieve their ends they need to keep the system vulnerability going for more time. This co-ordinated Trojan threat is an attempt to the keep that 'backdoor' open, essentially buying time," he concludes. Of the three, Glieder leads the initial charge. It sneaks past anti-virus protection to download and execute files from a long, hard-coded list of URLs and "plant" the infected machine with "hooks" for future use. On Windows 2000 and Windows XP machines, it attempts to stop and disable the Internet Connection Firewall and the Security Center service (introduced with Windows XP Service Pack 2). Then the Trojan accesses the URL list to download Fantibag. The way is now paved to launch the second stage of attack. Sulabh, a tester with MicroWorld Technologies says of Fantibag, "Now Fantibag goes about attacking the networking feature of the infected system to prevent it from communicating with anti-virus firms and denying access to the Microsoft Windows Update site. It closes your escape route by making it impossible to download an anti-virus solution and any subsequent Windows security patch to your system. Effectively it helps Mitglieder (the third stage Trojan) open the 'backdoor' by shutting the other doors on you." Mitglieder puts the system under complete control of the attacker by opening the 'backdoor' on a port using which the attacker can update the Trojan, to stay a step ahead of attempts to remove it, download and execute files, initiate an SMTP server to relay spam, execute files on the infected computer and download and execute files via an URL. "This is what makes it scary," say Aarti, Assistant Manager, QA, MicroWorld Technologies. "The fact that the system can now be used as a remote controlled 'soldier' (bot) in an army (botnet) of similarly compromised machines to launch criminally motivated attacks, causing harm to Internet users." Botnets thus formed can among other things, use your machine to launch Distributed Denial of service attacks which overload servers, making them crash, to send out spam, spread new Malware, plant Keylogger to retrieve your personal information like identity, passwords, account numbers etc., install Spyware, manipulate online polls/games, abuse programs like Google AdSense to cheat advertisers of revenue, and install Advertisement Addons for financial gain as in fake websites advertising services that don't exist. "Botnets can even encompass over 50,000 host machines. The potential for mischief is huge," reflects Govind Rammurthy. "Such a three-pronged Trojan attack where attackers change their virus code and release viruses quickly to bypass virus signature scanners, then disable network access to deny the user link-ups to anti-virus and Microsoft Windows Update site for protection has huge significance for virus-signature based protection. It is a sign of things to come," he says, remembering the scramble at MicroWorld labs to update their products to detect and remove the three Trojans. Anti-virus updates for the three-pronged Trojan threat are available at MicroWorld Technologies site. Maybe the time for worrying about some pimply teenager turning out malicious code because they have nothing better to do on a nice sunny morning, is over. The world could be facing a determined organized crime syndicate who'll stop at nothing to get what they want - information precious to you. MicroWorld Technologies is one of the leading solution providers for Information Technology, Content Security and Communications Software. MicroWorld has established itself as a leader in providing content security, anti-virus and corporate communications software solutions.
MORE RESOURCES: |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Internet Identity Theft - How You Can Shield Yourself With the advent of the World Wide Web, a whole new breed of criminals have surfaced, posing threats to more than just our material assets, but also to our very identities. Although there are a number of effective methods for protecting yourself from internet identity theft, not everyone takes the necessary steps to initiate such a plan. Five Excellent Indie Encryption And Security Solutions You Have Not Heard About 1. Geek Superhero http://www. Top 10 tips for Safe Internet Shopping Over Ł5 billion pounds was spent on online shopping in 2004. The Internet was the fastest growing retail sector last year, attracting one in four shoppers. Crack The Code - Thats A Direct Challenge I Challenge You To Crack The Code ------------------------------------- I had quite an interesting experience recently. I was hired by a company to perform a vulnerability assessment and penetration test on their network. The Move to a New Anti-Virus Model This is the second in a series of articles highlighting reasons why we need a new model for anti-virus and security solutions.Reason #1: the Basic ModelAnti-virus software vendors still rely on yesterday's methods for solving today's problems: they wait for the next virus to wreak havoc and then produce a solution. Delete Cookies: New-Age Diet or Common Sense Internet Security? No, this article isn't about some new, lose-20-pounds-in-a-week, certified-by-some-tan-Southern-California-doctor diet. It's about cookies on your computer - what they are, why they are there, and what to do about them. Viruses, Trojans, and Spyware - Oh My! Have you ever had to call Symantec or McAfee to ask them how to remove a virus? Or have you spent hours online trying to figure out how to remove spyware, only to find out that you did something wrong and now your computer won't boot? I know your pain and frustration with just trying to use your computer without worry. As a computer technician at ARCH Computing Services, I know how hard it can be to pay someone to remove viruses and spyware. Protect Your Little Black Book The movie Little Black Book features a young woman, Stacy, who is frustrated when her boyfriend refuses to share information about his past relationships. When his PDA, a Palm Tungsten C, falls into her hands, she is faced with a conundrum. Online Cell Phone Scams and Spam They're out there. Individuals trying to make a quick buck at your expense. Are You Surfing Safe? Ok, you've got a computer, and you get online. You surf your favorite sites, Sports, Shopping, Cowchip Tossing Blogs, and so on. Reporting Internet Scams When it comes to reporting Internet scams most of us either don't have a clue who to contact or just ignore them in our email. But according to an FBI report in December 2004, nearly ten million people last year didn't ignore them and fell for the latest Internet scams. Identity Theft Article - A Phisher Is Trying To Steal Your Identity! Sooner or later everyone with an email account will receive a phishing attempt from some internet scammer. What is phishing? How can you protect yourself? These are some of the questions this identity theft article will provide, along with some free resources and practical advice on how to protect your online identity. Phishing - A High Tech Identity Theft With A Low Tech Solution Have you ever got an email asking you to confirm your account information from a bank or a company that you have never done business with? The email looks official and it even has a link that appears to take you to the company's website. The email you have received is actually from an identity thief. Identity Theft Offline -- So Many Possibilities Chris Simpson, head of Scotland Yard's computer crime unit was unpleasantly surprised to learn how easy it is to cheat anybody out of his or her personal info -- by means of a fake survey.This survey wasn't a scam; in fact, it was an experiment. 3 Things You Must Know About Spyware 1)Spyware is on your system. Like it or not, statistically speaking, you probably have spyware on your machine right now. New Mass Mailing Spamming Internet Trojan for the Windows Platform May. 16th 2005 - MicroWorld has reported the discovery of Troj/Sober-Q, which is a mass mailing spamming internet Trojan for the Windows platform. How to Protect Yourself from Viruses, Spyware, Adware, and Other Nuisances Spyware/adware is a new major concern for PC users everywhere. Infecting your computer silently (usually installed with programs that seem harmless), spyware and adware can collect personal information about you, as well as cause pop up ads to come up all of the time, changing your browsers home page, sometimes even completely disabling your computer's usability. The Never Ending Spyware Story It's been with us since 1993, it's gotten more intrusive, more complicated.It's created a whole ecosystem, so to speak. Steganography - The Art Of Deception & Concealment The Message Must Get Through ----------------------------- The year is 300A.D. Information Security for E-businessmen: Just a Couple of Ideas If you constantly deal with bank or electronic accounts, it must be your worst nightmare--to wake up and learn that you are a bankrupt. Some crook stole your personal data and all the money you have been sweating blood for years has flown to somebody else's account.
|