Thank God I got out of Windows and into Mac.
Just in time. Jeez, and to think I used to use Outlook Express, the Typhoid Mary of internet mail readers.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
Posted on 05/12/2003 8:34:56 PM PDT by ex-Texan
Fizzer Worm Wallops World
Complex new virus spreading fast.
The Fizzer worm, which first caught security experts' attention last Thursday, is hitting computer users across the globe early this week, spreading through email and popular file-swapping networks.
Tonight on "Tech Live," get the very latest news on Fizzer, and see how to get rid of this new menace.
Security firm MessageLabs says its scanners caught 18,000 email messages containing Fizzer on Monday alone. The virus spreads in many different forms; its infection rate is climbing.
McAfee, Trend Micro, and Symantec each rate Fizzer a medium threat, while F-Secure says Fizzer merits its highest-severity rating. The virus affects computers running Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. It doesn't affect Macs or Linux/Unix machines.
Virus is clever code
The virus first appeared on May 8. According to the technical write-up on the F-Secure website, Fizzer is an incredibly dynamic piece of code. The write-up reads:
The worm can spread itself in emails and in [the] KaZaA P2P (peer-to-peer) file-sharing network. Fizzer worm has a built-in IRC backdoor, a DoS (denial of service) attack tool, a data-stealing trojan (uses external keylogger DLL), [and] an HTTP server.
The biggest threat from Fizzer, perhaps, is the key-logging program it installs on a victim's machine. Keyloggers record everything you type into your PC. They even record screen shots. The captured info is then sent back to the attacker. Infected machines could relay bank account numbers and passwords, screen names and passwords, and other sensitive personal data.
When sent via email, Fizzer uses some of the following subject lines:
I thought this was interesting... rather psychedelic
[There are many more listed in the article]
File swappers beware
Fizzer also lists itself in the KaZaA shared file folders of infected computers running the P2P file-sharing utility. Fizzer poses as a dummy media file, tempting an unsuspecting user to download and double-click it.
The file containing Fizzer's executable code is named by a random generator, but the file extension is always .exe, .pif, .com, or .scr.
Because Fizzer tries to disable antivirus programs, it's especially important that you update your AV definitions.
F-Secure offers a free disinfection tool you can download by clicking this link.
Or you can see F-Secure's technical write-up of the virus. The write-up also links to the disinfection tool.
(Excerpt) Read more at techtv.com ...
Thank God I got out of Windows and into Mac.
Just in time. Jeez, and to think I used to use Outlook Express, the Typhoid Mary of internet mail readers.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
When sent via email, Fizzer uses some of the following subject lines:
There's their list of email subject lines.
I have an email in my inbox right now that has an attachment infected with a virus with the "scr" file extension.
The from line is "gjones1980" and the subject line is "100 Things B4 I die"
Norton Antivirus caught it. Heads up!
Gee, do we have RIAA to thank for this?
kAcknor Sez:
I've been using Trend Micro's PC-cillin for about two years now. Started with it when we switched from MacAffee & Norton at work. About 50% of our support problems disappeared when we got MacAffee off our systems, and even Norton used far more system resources.
50 Bucks, fairly easy setup, timely updates, and I've had ZERO problems with it in the way of interference with other programs or causing one itself.
To me that's well worth it.
"tIqIpqu' 'ej nom tIqIp" (Hit them hard and hit them fast.)
Sorry, I can't help you out there. I've been using Norton for a three years. Paid for the renewal. It updates automatically. I'm happy to this point. Seemed like money well spent.
10 dollars is a rip? How long is that good for? How valuable is your time? How long would you spend restoring your PC if a virus hosed it? Jeez...
Since the main source of viruses and worms is email, make sure your anti-virus scans email as it come in and goes out.
Cleanup took more than eight hours. I didn't lose any data, but had to reinstall a number of programs.
I do recommend Housecall ( http://www.antivirus.com ) any time you have a mysterious problem
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