Mytob e-mail worm proliferating quickly

ZD Net ^ | March 29, 2005 | Matt Hines

[infocats]

"With eight new variants surfacing in the last week alone, and over a dozen reported since the beginning of March, the Mytob mass-mailing worm appears to be evolving rapidly."

On Monday, security software maker Symantec reported two new versions of the virus, labeled as W32.Mytob.R and W32.Mytob.S. Both worms achieved a low or moderate threat rating from Symantec, as have earlier variants of Mytob, but the company is still recommending that people update their security software immediately to protect against the emerging threat.

[Disambiguator]

Evolving? I think not. Here is a case where Intelligent Design is clearly at work.

[infocats]

"Evolving? I think not. Here is a case where Intelligent Design is clearly at work."

Perhaps in this case, malignant design would be more appropriate.

[Disambiguator]

Just because it's intelligent doesn't mean it can't be malevolent.

[BurbankKarl]

Well, I have enough trouble getting staff to update virus definitions as it is! I d/l every afternoon from NAV...

[Texas_Jarhead]

Set 'em on auto uppdate and don't worry about it.

[Disambiguator]

Desktop PC virus definition updates should be automated, if possible. Based on my experience in IT, most PC users shouldn't even be allowed near a keyboard, let alone given Internet access!

[BurbankKarl]

I do that...but if the computer starts scanning they turn the scan off...

Last week a lady was working late, and her computer started defragging....so she just "turned it off and on" and wondered why it took so long to boot up.

[GSWarrior]

That link you provided froze my computer.

[lilylangtree]

Thanks for the info.

[Texas_Jarhead]

If you have your A/V checking for updates at least daily then you shouldn't need to run a system scan very often. Once a month is fine. If you're more paranoid or circumstance warrant then once a week. One way to help with this kind of maintenance is to schedule it to occur at night. If the PCs are turned off overnight then setup a schedule where they are left on one night a week. Schedule maintenance for that night. Defrags don't need to be run very often either. Under heavy data transfer conditions the newer OS shouldn't need to be defragged but once every six months.

I guess you could say I'm sort of an IT helper monkey. These are just some general tips. Maybe it's helpful. If not then at least I tried.

[ShadowAce]

[antiRepublicrat]

"Malevolent Design Theory"? That would explain a lot.

[BootsOnTheGround]

This is the Luddite Virus 1.0 speaking:

This virus is based on the honor system. Please send this virus to all people on your contact list and then erase all files on your computer.

Thank you.

[infocats]

I wonder what the true cost to the computing community is of these various virii, worms and trojans, not just in terms of the costs of the protecting software, but the repair cost, psychological stress cost, and time cost?

I probably spend an average of an hour / day running various scans and getting signature updates.

Even so, I picked up a backdoor trojan the other day, probably after running one of the P2P networks for an extended period.

[ncpatriot]

I'm thinking of getting an Apple ie Mac. Would that solve the virus problem? Thanks

[JoJo Gunn]

It would lessen the risks from viruses as a whole, at least for now, but nothing is ever bulletproof. Always remember Rule #1:

What one man can make, another man can break.

[timtoews5292004]

There are fewer viruses aimed at Mac, but that doesnt mean there aren't any. If you've got broadband internet acess without a firewall and virus protection, you're still probably going to get a virus. An unprotected system is a vulnerable system, regardless of the OS. While it is less likely that a virus will get you on Mac, it is still a possibility. My firewalled virus protected Windows machine hasn't had a virus on it in a couple years. My wife's machine that didnt have updated anti virus info on it at one time, used to get viruses frequently. A switch to AVG Anti Virus (FREE, BTW) and a good firewall fixed that.

[infocats]

"I'm thinking of getting an Apple ie Mac. Would that solve the virus problem?"

OS X has had a great record (so far) in terms of being virus resistant. However, it should be borne in mind that Apple has only about 10% market share and so has little interest to virus writers who are looking to create maximum mischief. Should Apple become significantly more popular with the public at large, you can be sure that it will attract more hackers to create viruses for that particular operating system.

[ShadowAce]

If you don't want to spend the extra cash on the hardward, you can try Linux. It has the strengths of very few virii (if any), and it runs on the same Intel hardware you already have.