Name, Rank, and Social Security Number Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the U.S.
The U.S. Secret Service has estimated that consumers nationwide lose $745 million to identity theft each year. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the average victim spends 607 hours and averages $1,000 just to clear their credit records.
Theives who steal Identiies use a number of different methods to retrieve your personal information without you knowing. They may be able to gain your information from businesses or other institutions by stealing it. They may bribe an employee who has access to records. They may get information by hacking into records. Maybe they will end up just plain conning the information out of employees. Once identity thieves have your personal information, they may easily use it to commit an act of fraud or theft using your name.
How can you tell if you have become a victim of identity theft?
Some signs include unexplained charges or withdrawals from your financial accounts
Bills or other mail stop arriving because the thief might have submitted a change of address
Perhaps a credit application is denied you for no apparent reason
Debt collectors may begin calling you about merchandise or services you didn’t buy.
Your computer can be a goldmine to anyone who is in the practice of stealing identities. Your computer contains a wealth of personal information for an identity thief to play with.
To protect yourself and your computer against identity theft consider:
Updating virus protection software frequently.
Consider setting your virus protection software to update automatically.
The Windows XP operating system also can be set to check for patches automatically.
Windows XP will also download the patches to your computer automatically.
Do not opening files sent to you by strangers
Do not click on hyperlinks
Do not download programs from people or companies you don’t know.
Use a firewall program, particularly if you are on high speed Internet connections
High Speed cable or DSL leaves your computer attached to the internet 24h a day.
Make sure you firewall against intruders if your machine will be conneted 24h/day
Only provide personal or financial information through secured websites.
While not fool proof, a lock icon on the browser’s status bar or a URL for a website that begins "https:" (the "s" stands for secure), may provide additional security.
Stop storing financial information on your laptop, unless this is absolutely necessary.
Delete all the personal information stored on a computer before disposing of it.
Use a "wipe" utility program to overwrite the entire hard drive.
Check with an anti-fraud education organization such as CardCops (www.cardcops.com).
Card Cops runs a web site designed to help consumers determine whether their credit card numbers may have been stolen or not. They monitor Internet "chat rooms" where identity thieves gather. Here, the thieves illicitly trade and sell stolen credit card numbers. CardCops turns pertinent information over to law enforcement authorities. The authorities will also allow consumers to access a database to see whether individual card numbers may have been stolen.
In the first two months of operation, the site identified more than 100,000 stolen credit cards.
As with any crime, you can not completely control whether you will become a victim, but you can take steps to minimize your risk by remaining diligent and by minimizing outside access to your personal information.
Showing posts with label Computer Security. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Computer Security. Show all posts
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Phishing Not As Great As Fishing
If you've never received a 'phishing' email (and that's NOT an invitation to go 'fishing,' either!), then you're one of the lucky few!
If you have received email from a 'phisher' - asking you to visit a familiar website to verify or update personal information, then you NEED TO STOP - before you even respond or get thinking about your accounts, money, or anything else. DO NOT CLICK on ANYTHING within the email!
A phishing attempt/email might ask you to
* verify information at a common site you may use such as paypal, e-Gold, eBay, etc.
*upgrade for some special DEAL at any common site - an autosurf, traffic exchange, money exchange service, almost ANY KIND OF SITE!
*update your info
*update or provide your banking information
*update or provide your credit card number, social security or social insurance numbers, etc.
Often, you'll think that you recognize the business name mentioned in the email - and you'll think that everything must be okay - since the email mentions a company that you're familiar with.....
DON'T FALL FOR IT!
Don't clik on the 'take me there' link and - especially do NOT provide the information that the email asks you to give!
The link will only lead to a bogus website or other web location (blog, chatsite, forum, etc) that APPEARS TO BE the site you think it is, as described in the email. This site was created by someone whose sole purpose is to steal your personal information! The site may even look JUST LIKE the original...but be assured that it is NOT the site you think it is no matter how professional the site may look - no matter that is looks just like the one you've been led to think it is.
Phishing (pronounced as "fishing") is defined as the act of sending an email that falsely claims to the recipient that you are acting on behalf or that you own an established business. The "Phisher's" intent is to scam the recipient into surrendering their private information, thus, ultimately stealing the recipient's identity.
It is not alwayss as easy as you might think to spot an email send by a phisher who is phishing for information. At first glance, the email may look like it is from a legitimate company.
The "From" field of the e-mail may have the .com address of the company mentioned in the e-mail.
The clickable link even appears to take you to the company's website, when in fact, it is a fake website built to replicate the legitimate site.
Many phishers are professional criminals. They have spent a lot of time in creating emails that look authentic.
Users need to review all emails requesting personal information carefully.
When reviewing your email remember that the "From Field" can be easily changed by the sender.
While it may look like it is coming from a .com you do business with, looks can be deceiving.
Also - keep in mind that the phisher will go all out in trying to make their email look as legitimate as possible. They will even copy logos or images from the official site to use in their emails.
Finally, they like to include a clickable link that the recipient can follow to conveniently update their information.
How to check the legitimacy of a link:
Hover your mouse over the link - without actually clicking
Look to the bottom left-hand of your computer screen.
The website address to which you are about to be taken will show up in a small viewing area.
Finally, follow these three important rules:
* Never, ever, click the links within the text of the e-mail.
* Always delete such an e-mail immediately.
* Once you have deleted the e-mail, empty the trash box in your e-mail accounts as well.
If you are truly concerned that you are missing an important notice regarding one of your accounts, then type the full URL address of the website into your browser. Then find out through your safe members area if there was, indeed, some kind of request sent out - for you to update your details.
If you have received email from a 'phisher' - asking you to visit a familiar website to verify or update personal information, then you NEED TO STOP - before you even respond or get thinking about your accounts, money, or anything else. DO NOT CLICK on ANYTHING within the email!
A phishing attempt/email might ask you to
* verify information at a common site you may use such as paypal, e-Gold, eBay, etc.
*upgrade for some special DEAL at any common site - an autosurf, traffic exchange, money exchange service, almost ANY KIND OF SITE!
*update your info
*update or provide your banking information
*update or provide your credit card number, social security or social insurance numbers, etc.
Often, you'll think that you recognize the business name mentioned in the email - and you'll think that everything must be okay - since the email mentions a company that you're familiar with.....
DON'T FALL FOR IT!
Don't clik on the 'take me there' link and - especially do NOT provide the information that the email asks you to give!
The link will only lead to a bogus website or other web location (blog, chatsite, forum, etc) that APPEARS TO BE the site you think it is, as described in the email. This site was created by someone whose sole purpose is to steal your personal information! The site may even look JUST LIKE the original...but be assured that it is NOT the site you think it is no matter how professional the site may look - no matter that is looks just like the one you've been led to think it is.
Phishing (pronounced as "fishing") is defined as the act of sending an email that falsely claims to the recipient that you are acting on behalf or that you own an established business. The "Phisher's" intent is to scam the recipient into surrendering their private information, thus, ultimately stealing the recipient's identity.
It is not alwayss as easy as you might think to spot an email send by a phisher who is phishing for information. At first glance, the email may look like it is from a legitimate company.
The "From" field of the e-mail may have the .com address of the company mentioned in the e-mail.
The clickable link even appears to take you to the company's website, when in fact, it is a fake website built to replicate the legitimate site.
Many phishers are professional criminals. They have spent a lot of time in creating emails that look authentic.
Users need to review all emails requesting personal information carefully.
When reviewing your email remember that the "From Field" can be easily changed by the sender.
While it may look like it is coming from a .com you do business with, looks can be deceiving.
Also - keep in mind that the phisher will go all out in trying to make their email look as legitimate as possible. They will even copy logos or images from the official site to use in their emails.
Finally, they like to include a clickable link that the recipient can follow to conveniently update their information.
How to check the legitimacy of a link:
Hover your mouse over the link - without actually clicking
Look to the bottom left-hand of your computer screen.
The website address to which you are about to be taken will show up in a small viewing area.
Finally, follow these three important rules:
* Never, ever, click the links within the text of the e-mail.
* Always delete such an e-mail immediately.
* Once you have deleted the e-mail, empty the trash box in your e-mail accounts as well.
If you are truly concerned that you are missing an important notice regarding one of your accounts, then type the full URL address of the website into your browser. Then find out through your safe members area if there was, indeed, some kind of request sent out - for you to update your details.
Beware of Intelligent Explorer Plug-Ins
Just what is Intelligent Explorer? For your safety, you really need to know!
Know your browser! READ anything that looks like upgrade or update options that might pop up at unusual times or in unusual manners - especially if you have been randomly surfing online.
Most security suites - provide 'scheduling' options for when they'll look for, download and install updates. KNOW WHEN these times are set - and if an upgrade or update occurs beyond the time that you have set in your 'scheduling' - BE SUSPICIOUS and don't just click to update, install, upgrade, or any other thing that a pop-up might ask.
A program called 'Intelligent Explorer' is a suspicious program as such! It is a NIGHTMARE! And it usually gets INTO your system by tricking you with a pop up window that asks you to upgrade, update or add further protection to your computer or browsers.
It will load and install a product called Intelligent Explorer on your computer. Afterward you'll have an extra 'toolbar' connected to your browsers.
According to some 'security tip' forums I visit,
BullGuard, CWShredder and Ad-Aware (normally considered very top-end, excellent protection programs) won't help you to easily remove "Intelligent Explorer" once you're infected. They can 'detect' but not solve your problem - as this malicious-ware re-writes itself and moves itself around!
Spy-bot software also seems to be of no help in removing this menace!
The malware toolbar makes your system allow OTHER and MORE DOWNLOADS that you DO NOT WANT on your computer.
The Intelligent Explorer plug-in is JUST PLAIN NASTY!!!
This plug-in is a PRIME EXAMPLE of why you should be diligent about reading TOS agreements before you load ANYTHING onto your machine.
In this program's terms, you grant the right for other things to be downloaded onto your computer - once you have initially 'clicked okay'!
Here's a small portion of their TOS:
"You grant to us the right, exercisable by us until you uninstall the Software or this agreement is otherwise terminated, to provide to you the Service of downloading and causing to be displayed advertising material on your computer, through ‘pop-up’ or other display while you use your browser. You acknowledge and agree that installation of the Software may automatically modify toolbars and other settings of your browser. By installing the Software you agree to such modifications."
(go to http://www.ieplugin.com/terms.html to read it in its entirety)
The company, IBC incorporated, is incorporated in Belize. This is an example of a really DRASTIC license! One end user found highly objectionable pop-up advertisements generated by this software bundled with Intelligent Explorer. In short, the ads were of the 'extreme pornography' variety!
Intelligent Explorer is a plug-in, which can create a new home page, as well as start up and endless loop of pop-ups. You can remove the view bar, but then starting up Internet Explorer will only cause it to reappear again (it re-writes itself so that it never really 'leaves' - just the first copy goes away when you 'uninstall' by regular methods).
One forum writer/poster who installed this toolbar said,
"I asked some friends to help, and no one could tell me what to do. This is what I did: I bought a copy of a program called XoftSpy and it removed the software. It took two scans and a reboot to do it. This is not an advertisement for this product. They advertised it was free, which it was to run, but then I had to buy it to actually fix anything. It cost me $40 and I am sure that there are freeware products out there as well, but that is what ended the nightmare for me."
So - at a $40 cost, including a huge headache, the above user was finally able to get rid of the problem.
Other spyware products I have seen out there include spybot, NoAdware, Spyware Eliminator, Pal Spyware Remover, and Spyware C.O.P. Let the buyer beware!
These programs often provide the function they claim - but also install other bundled items all during one nice and neat installation.........that YOU INITIATE by clicking 'I Agree' or 'Yes' too quickly. The other items are what will cause you nightmares.
Again - Read all TOS agreements - many spyware applications can be bundled into or attached to ANY SOFTWARE PRODUCT.....and again -
BUYER BEWARE!
Know your browser! READ anything that looks like upgrade or update options that might pop up at unusual times or in unusual manners - especially if you have been randomly surfing online.
Most security suites - provide 'scheduling' options for when they'll look for, download and install updates. KNOW WHEN these times are set - and if an upgrade or update occurs beyond the time that you have set in your 'scheduling' - BE SUSPICIOUS and don't just click to update, install, upgrade, or any other thing that a pop-up might ask.
A program called 'Intelligent Explorer' is a suspicious program as such! It is a NIGHTMARE! And it usually gets INTO your system by tricking you with a pop up window that asks you to upgrade, update or add further protection to your computer or browsers.
It will load and install a product called Intelligent Explorer on your computer. Afterward you'll have an extra 'toolbar' connected to your browsers.
According to some 'security tip' forums I visit,
BullGuard, CWShredder and Ad-Aware (normally considered very top-end, excellent protection programs) won't help you to easily remove "Intelligent Explorer" once you're infected. They can 'detect' but not solve your problem - as this malicious-ware re-writes itself and moves itself around!
Spy-bot software also seems to be of no help in removing this menace!
The malware toolbar makes your system allow OTHER and MORE DOWNLOADS that you DO NOT WANT on your computer.
The Intelligent Explorer plug-in is JUST PLAIN NASTY!!!
This plug-in is a PRIME EXAMPLE of why you should be diligent about reading TOS agreements before you load ANYTHING onto your machine.
In this program's terms, you grant the right for other things to be downloaded onto your computer - once you have initially 'clicked okay'!
Here's a small portion of their TOS:
"You grant to us the right, exercisable by us until you uninstall the Software or this agreement is otherwise terminated, to provide to you the Service of downloading and causing to be displayed advertising material on your computer, through ‘pop-up’ or other display while you use your browser. You acknowledge and agree that installation of the Software may automatically modify toolbars and other settings of your browser. By installing the Software you agree to such modifications."
(go to http://www.ieplugin.com/terms.html to read it in its entirety)
The company, IBC incorporated, is incorporated in Belize. This is an example of a really DRASTIC license! One end user found highly objectionable pop-up advertisements generated by this software bundled with Intelligent Explorer. In short, the ads were of the 'extreme pornography' variety!
Intelligent Explorer is a plug-in, which can create a new home page, as well as start up and endless loop of pop-ups. You can remove the view bar, but then starting up Internet Explorer will only cause it to reappear again (it re-writes itself so that it never really 'leaves' - just the first copy goes away when you 'uninstall' by regular methods).
One forum writer/poster who installed this toolbar said,
"I asked some friends to help, and no one could tell me what to do. This is what I did: I bought a copy of a program called XoftSpy and it removed the software. It took two scans and a reboot to do it. This is not an advertisement for this product. They advertised it was free, which it was to run, but then I had to buy it to actually fix anything. It cost me $40 and I am sure that there are freeware products out there as well, but that is what ended the nightmare for me."
So - at a $40 cost, including a huge headache, the above user was finally able to get rid of the problem.
Other spyware products I have seen out there include spybot, NoAdware, Spyware Eliminator, Pal Spyware Remover, and Spyware C.O.P. Let the buyer beware!
These programs often provide the function they claim - but also install other bundled items all during one nice and neat installation.........that YOU INITIATE by clicking 'I Agree' or 'Yes' too quickly. The other items are what will cause you nightmares.
Again - Read all TOS agreements - many spyware applications can be bundled into or attached to ANY SOFTWARE PRODUCT.....and again -
BUYER BEWARE!
Secure Your PC - Bare Basics
Securing Your Computer System Today is more than a necessity! As more people use their computers for everything from online chatting - to online banking, investing and shopping, sheer number of electronic data being passed to and fro is staggering.
While online interactions and money-transfering, product and service orders become regular activities, hackers, attachers and crackers are never without people - and computers - to practice their skills on.
While some may be looking to phish your personal information and identity for resale, others simply just want to use your computer (your computer's resources and internet connection) as a platform for attacking other unknowing targets.
Below are a few easy, cost-effective steps you can take to make your computer more secure.
Always make backup copies of important information and store these in a safe placel - that means - separate from your computer!
Update and patch your operating system, web browser and software frequently.
If you have a Windows operating system, start by going to http://www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
and run the update wizard.
This program will help you find the latest patches for your Windows computer.
Also, go to
http://www.officeupdate.microsoft.com/
to locate possible patches for your Office programs.
Install a firewall. Without a good firewall, viruses, worms, Trojans, malware and adware can all easily access your computer from the Internet. Consideration should be given to the benefits and differences between hardware and software based firewall programs.
Review your browser and email settings for optimum security.
Why should you do this?
Active-X and JavaScript are often used by hackers to plant malicious programs into your computers. While cookies are relatively harmless in terms of security concerns, they do still track your movements on the Internet to build a profile of you. As a minimum precautions, set your security setting for the "internet zone" to High, and your "trusted sites zone" to Medium Low.
Install antivirus software and set for automatic updates. This way, you'll receive the most current versions.
Do not open unknown email attachments. It is simply not enough that you may recognize the address from which it originates because many viruses can spread from a familiar address.
Do not run programs from unknown origins.
Also, do not send these types of programs to friends and coworkers!!! They contain funny or amusing stories or jokes, but may also contain a Trojans horse waiting to infect a computer.
Disable hidden filename extensions. By default, the Windows operating system is set to "hide file extensions for known file types". Disable this option so that file extensions display in Windows. Some file extensions will, by default, continue to remain hidden, but you are more likely to see any unusual file extensions that do not belong.
Turn off your computer and disconnect from the network when not using the computer. A hacker can not attack your computer when you are disconnected from the network or the computer is off. Consider making a boot disk on a floppy disk in case your computer is damaged or compromised by a malicious program. Obviously, you need to take this step before you experience a hostile breach of your system.
While online interactions and money-transfering, product and service orders become regular activities, hackers, attachers and crackers are never without people - and computers - to practice their skills on.
While some may be looking to phish your personal information and identity for resale, others simply just want to use your computer (your computer's resources and internet connection) as a platform for attacking other unknowing targets.
Below are a few easy, cost-effective steps you can take to make your computer more secure.
Always make backup copies of important information and store these in a safe placel - that means - separate from your computer!
Update and patch your operating system, web browser and software frequently.
If you have a Windows operating system, start by going to http://www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
and run the update wizard.
This program will help you find the latest patches for your Windows computer.
Also, go to
http://www.officeupdate.microsoft.com/
to locate possible patches for your Office programs.
Install a firewall. Without a good firewall, viruses, worms, Trojans, malware and adware can all easily access your computer from the Internet. Consideration should be given to the benefits and differences between hardware and software based firewall programs.
Review your browser and email settings for optimum security.
Why should you do this?
Active-X and JavaScript are often used by hackers to plant malicious programs into your computers. While cookies are relatively harmless in terms of security concerns, they do still track your movements on the Internet to build a profile of you. As a minimum precautions, set your security setting for the "internet zone" to High, and your "trusted sites zone" to Medium Low.
Install antivirus software and set for automatic updates. This way, you'll receive the most current versions.
Do not open unknown email attachments. It is simply not enough that you may recognize the address from which it originates because many viruses can spread from a familiar address.
Do not run programs from unknown origins.
Also, do not send these types of programs to friends and coworkers!!! They contain funny or amusing stories or jokes, but may also contain a Trojans horse waiting to infect a computer.
Disable hidden filename extensions. By default, the Windows operating system is set to "hide file extensions for known file types". Disable this option so that file extensions display in Windows. Some file extensions will, by default, continue to remain hidden, but you are more likely to see any unusual file extensions that do not belong.
Turn off your computer and disconnect from the network when not using the computer. A hacker can not attack your computer when you are disconnected from the network or the computer is off. Consider making a boot disk on a floppy disk in case your computer is damaged or compromised by a malicious program. Obviously, you need to take this step before you experience a hostile breach of your system.
Common Viruses To Watch For
Here are some common viruses that are quite constantly circulating on the internet.
Virus: Trojan.Lodear A Trojan horse that attempts to download remote files. It will inject a .dll file into the EXPLORER.EXE process causing system instability.
Virus: W32(dot)Beagle(dot)CO(at)mm (blogger software kept making a link of the virus name because of the '@' symbol)
A mass-mailing worm that lowers security settings. It can delete security-related registry sub keys and may block access to security-related websites.
Virus: Backdoor.Zagaban
A Trojan horse that allows the compromised computer to be used as a covert proxy and which may degrade network performance.
Virus: W32/Netsky-P A mass-mailing worm which spreads by emailing itself to addresses produced from files on the local drives.
Virus: W32/Mytob-GH A mass-mailing worm and IRC backdoor Trojan for the Windows platform.
Messages sent by this worm will have the subject chosen randomly from a list including titles such as: Notice of account limitation, Email Account Suspension, Security measures, Members Support, Important Notification.
Virus: W32/Mytob-EX
A mass-mailing worm and IRC backdoor Trojan similar in nature to W32-Mytob-GH. W32/Mytob-EX runs continuously in the background, providing a backdoor server which allows a remote intruder to gain access and control over the computer via IRC channels. This virus spreads by sending itself to email attachments harvested from your email addresses.
Virus: W32/Mytob-AS, Mytob-BE, Mytob-C, and Mytob-ER This family of worm variations possesses similar characteristics in terms of what they can do. They are mass-mailing worms with backdoor functionality that can be controlled through the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network. Additionally, they can spread through email and through various operating system vulnerabilities such as the LSASS (MS04-011).
Virus: Zafi-D A mass mailing worm and a peer-to-peer worm which copies itself to the Windows system folder with the filename Norton Update.exe. It can then create a number of files in the Windows system folder with filenames consisting of 8 random characters and a DLL extension. W32/Zafi-D copies itself to folders with names containing share, upload, or music as ICQ 2005a new!.exe or winamp 5.7 new!.exe. W32/Zafi-D will also display a fake error message box with the caption "CRC: 04F6Bh" and the text "Error in packed file!".
Virus: W32/Netsky-DA mass-mailing worm with IRC backdoor functionality which can also infect computers vulnerable to the LSASS (MS04-011) exploit.
Virus: W32/Zafi-B A peer-to-peer (P2P) and email worm that will copy itself to the Windows system folder as a randomly named EXE file. This worm will test for the presence of an internet connection by attempting to connect to www.google.com or www.microsoft.com. A bilingual, worm with an attached Hungarian political text message box which translates to "We demand that the government accommodates the homeless, tightens up the penal code and VOTES FOR THE DEATH PENALTY to cut down the increasing crime. Jun. 2004, Pécs (SNAF Team)"
This is a very small, incomplete list. If you have been having some problems with your computer but haven't yet checked out why your computer is running slow, showing error messages and display other virus-related problems, please - run anti-virus software's scan just to make sure you haven't picked up a virus, worm, or other malware!
Also - update your software often! Many anti-virus programs can help you detect and clean your computer - but no program will help you if you're not doing regular scans and updates.
Virus: Trojan.Lodear A Trojan horse that attempts to download remote files. It will inject a .dll file into the EXPLORER.EXE process causing system instability.
Virus: W32(dot)Beagle(dot)CO(at)mm (blogger software kept making a link of the virus name because of the '@' symbol)
A mass-mailing worm that lowers security settings. It can delete security-related registry sub keys and may block access to security-related websites.
Virus: Backdoor.Zagaban
A Trojan horse that allows the compromised computer to be used as a covert proxy and which may degrade network performance.
Virus: W32/Netsky-P A mass-mailing worm which spreads by emailing itself to addresses produced from files on the local drives.
Virus: W32/Mytob-GH A mass-mailing worm and IRC backdoor Trojan for the Windows platform.
Messages sent by this worm will have the subject chosen randomly from a list including titles such as: Notice of account limitation, Email Account Suspension, Security measures, Members Support, Important Notification.
Virus: W32/Mytob-EX
A mass-mailing worm and IRC backdoor Trojan similar in nature to W32-Mytob-GH. W32/Mytob-EX runs continuously in the background, providing a backdoor server which allows a remote intruder to gain access and control over the computer via IRC channels. This virus spreads by sending itself to email attachments harvested from your email addresses.
Virus: W32/Mytob-AS, Mytob-BE, Mytob-C, and Mytob-ER This family of worm variations possesses similar characteristics in terms of what they can do. They are mass-mailing worms with backdoor functionality that can be controlled through the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network. Additionally, they can spread through email and through various operating system vulnerabilities such as the LSASS (MS04-011).
Virus: Zafi-D A mass mailing worm and a peer-to-peer worm which copies itself to the Windows system folder with the filename Norton Update.exe. It can then create a number of files in the Windows system folder with filenames consisting of 8 random characters and a DLL extension. W32/Zafi-D copies itself to folders with names containing share, upload, or music as ICQ 2005a new!.exe or winamp 5.7 new!.exe. W32/Zafi-D will also display a fake error message box with the caption "CRC: 04F6Bh" and the text "Error in packed file!".
Virus: W32/Netsky-DA mass-mailing worm with IRC backdoor functionality which can also infect computers vulnerable to the LSASS (MS04-011) exploit.
Virus: W32/Zafi-B A peer-to-peer (P2P) and email worm that will copy itself to the Windows system folder as a randomly named EXE file. This worm will test for the presence of an internet connection by attempting to connect to www.google.com or www.microsoft.com. A bilingual, worm with an attached Hungarian political text message box which translates to "We demand that the government accommodates the homeless, tightens up the penal code and VOTES FOR THE DEATH PENALTY to cut down the increasing crime. Jun. 2004, Pécs (SNAF Team)"
This is a very small, incomplete list. If you have been having some problems with your computer but haven't yet checked out why your computer is running slow, showing error messages and display other virus-related problems, please - run anti-virus software's scan just to make sure you haven't picked up a virus, worm, or other malware!
Also - update your software often! Many anti-virus programs can help you detect and clean your computer - but no program will help you if you're not doing regular scans and updates.
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