Posted on 09/18/2001 2:49:25 PM PDT by -No Way-
Major new worm poses serious threat worldwide....
Heads up!!!!
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By Sam Costello September 18, 2001 10:40 am PT
A NEW WORM that can infect all 32-bit Windows computers and propagates using multiple methods has spread across the world Tuesday morning, according to Roger Thompson, technical director of malicious code at TruSecure.
The worm, called Nimda (admin spelled backwards), can spread via e-mail attachments, HTTP, or across shared hard disks inside networks, Thompson said. The worm can infect all 32-bit Windows systems -- Windows 98, 2000, Millennium Edition, XP, NT -- because it scans systems for between 10 and 100 different vulnerabilities and exploits them when found, he said.
"It looks like they've made a Swiss Army Knife," Thompson said, referring to the number of different tools the worm can use to attack systems.
"Every Win32 system is going to be vulnerable, if not from one [vulnerability], then from another," he said.
When spread by e-mail, Nimda arrives in inboxes as an attachment called "Readme.exe" or sometimes Readme.eml, Thompson said. The Readme file, however, has a malformed header (the data at the beginning of a file that allows a system to identify its type) which makes the computer think it is a WAV, or sound, file, he said. However, Readme.exe is in fact a program and can be executed just from the preview panel when viewing it without it being opened, he said.
Once the worm has infected a system, be it by HTTP, e-mail, or disk sharing, it then scans its local subnet (a chuck of the Internet) looking for vulnerable systems, Thompson said. Although some systems, such as those that are up to date on their patches, are protected behind firewalls or those that are filtering .exe attachments, will be safe from some aspects of the worm, that it spreads via three methods makes it more difficult to stop, he said. The spread of the worm across shared disks, which are more than likely entirely unprotected, "is going to be a real pain," he said.
The worm was discovered by Thompson's worldwide network of "worm catcher" systems at 9:08 a.m. ET Tuesday, he said. Within half an hour, it had spread across the whole world, he said.
"[Nimda] is certainly much faster, much more aggressive, and much bigger" than Code Red, Thompson said. Code Red was another recent worm that caused a good deal of damage and consternation for systems administrators worldwide.
Although Code Red did not ultimately have an impact on Internet performance despite some initial claims to the contrary, "we may actually see a hit on the Internet [and its performance]" with Nimda, Thompson said.
Computer security bodies the Computer Emergency Response Team/Coordination Center (CERT/CC) and Incidents.org both issued alerts about increased activity on the Internet Tuesday, stating that the activity may be related to the worm.
The spread of Nimda comes after warnings from a number of groups saying that attacks on networks and Web sites were possibilities after last Tuesday's terrorist attacks against New York and the Pentagon, outside of Washington. Although Thompson declined to comment on a possible connection between this worm and those attacks, saying it was inappropriate, the advisory released by TruSecure said, "we cannot discount the coincidence of the date and time of release, exactly one week to [probably to the minute] as the World Trade Center attack."
Sam Costello is a Boston-based correspondent for the IDG News Service, an InfoWorld affiliate.
Commander Anti-virus has a fix.
[sarcasm] Wow, I had no idea that Mac OS 9/X and UNIX were able to stop ALL virus attacks. Hmmm...I thought I just read about some similiar issues on linux, but I must be wrong, afterall, you said UNIX systems are safe (implying they don't get virus attacks at all) [/sarcasm] Do you realize you just called 90% of the worlds computer users dumb?
If the market positions were reversed, the Mac OS and UNIX would show their vulnerabilities more than they do.
As it is, Crackers concentrate on what they know and are familiar with. Even still, there are Cracker sites which deal with taking down UNIX boxes.
So the government helps us by warning us, then by scaring us, then by not warning us. Great logic, huh? Typical.
I happen to own Linux, various Windows, and at one time Mac computers.
They all have issues.
So step off your pedestal.
At least for Linux, there simply aren't viruses. There are worms, which are different, but there aren't viruses in the sense that someone can send you an email and crater your entire machine.
Hmmm...I thought I just read about some similiar issues on linux, but I must be wrong, afterall, you said UNIX systems are safe (implying they don't get virus attacks at all) [/sarcasm]
Generally, they really don't even blip as targets of virus attacks, mainly because such attacks are almost entirely unsuccessful. It is true, however, that Linux and similar systems give users enough rope with which to hang themselves, but it requires a knowledgable user to misconfigure their system. Whereas M$ products come misconfigured and ready to infect the world out of the box.
Do you realize you just called 90% of the worlds computer users dumb?
Hey, if the shoe fits... ;-)
If the market positions were reversed, the Mac OS and UNIX would show their vulnerabilities more than they do.
As it is, Crackers concentrate on what they know and are familiar with. Even still, there are Cracker sites which deal with taking down UNIX boxes.
Cracking != viruses. As for concentrating on ``what they know'', I'd wager more crackers have access to an OS that costs $0 (Linux) than they do one that costs as much as a couple of thousand dollars (M$ family of products).
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