Experts fear over computer viruses

[nlinecomputers]

Experts' fear over computer virusSome viruses posed as messages from MicrosoftComputer technicians are fighting a losing battle against out-of-control systems viruses, it was claimed on Wednesday.The latest research suggests the way viruses are being fought is fundamentally flawed, New Scientist magazine says. BBC - Experts fear over computer virus

[Martini Lover]

No matter what you do, you still have mix in some common sense and pay attention to the warnings.

[Jeber]

Yo, Martini Lover...you've been M.I.A. for a couple of weeks. Glad to have you back.

[ibe98765]

Another good article here on security:http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/07/technolo...ogy/07WORM.htmlAn excerpt below. You'll have to register to read the whole story...In Computer Security, a Bigger Reason to SquirmBy BRENDAN I. KOERNERIKE prison wardens marveling at an escapee's spoon-dug tunnel, computer-security professionals acknowledge grudging admiration for the author of SoBig.F, the virus that deluged e-mail In boxes last month. At the epidemic's peak in mid-August, according to the antivirus company Central Command, SoBig.F-related messages accounted for 73 percent of e-mail traffic worldwide, making it history's most aggressive online contagion."You have to think the person who did this has some awareness of the Internet's infrastructure," said Mark Carey, an independent computer security consultant in Columbus, Ohio, who has analyzed SoBig's code. "It's a little more sophisticated than what we've previously seen."On Wednesday, SoBig's self-destruct mechanism is supposed to kick in, spelling an end to the pesky e-mail messages it generated with subject lines like "Wicked Screensaver." But as SoBig — in colloquial parlance, a self-contained type of virus called a worm — has faded, concern has grown that computer networks, and the power grids and nuclear plants they control, are no better equipped to ward off infections than they were three and a half years ago, when the infamous I Love You worm ravaged cyberspace.IDC, a research firm, estimates that $2.2 billion was spent on antivirus products last year, but scofflaws always seem to be a step ahead. Antivirus vendors can do little but shrug and point out that even their fanciest software isn't perfect."The whole problem here is not just having antiviral products and using antiviral updates, but a lack of computer knowledge among users," says Steven Sundermeier, a vice president of Central Command, which is based in Medina, Ohio, and makes and sells antivirus products. "Users need to start developing safe computing practices." That means being more vigilant about not opening suspicious attachments and updating virus scanners every few days.Despite the brochures and educational Web sites that the antivirus industry churns out, some experts fear that many users will never alter their surfing habits. Security experts like William Knowles, senior analyst at c4i.org, a security news Web site, say SoBig was probably disguised as a pornographic picture and first spread by pornography newsgroups. "Are you really going to go down to users and say, `You can't surf Usenet for porn,' `You can't download pictures of Britney Spears'?" he said.Even people who have worked with computer technology for years can be careless, despite the warnings. In July, Roelof Temmingh, technical director at SensePost Information Security, a South African company that advises corporations, presented a paper at a Las Vegas security conference describing an experiment in which a test virus was sent anonymously via e-mail to 13 members of a bank's computer security team. Five recipients ran the infected attachment. "Five members of an I.T.-security-savvy team in the financial sector executed an in-your-face" virus, Mr. Temmingh pointed out, adding, "How many marketing, sales or management type people would do the same?"....