I apologize to those who are getting duplicates of this post.
I realize that I am sending this to multiple lists but I feel the relevance
deserves it.
<A HREF="http://www.cbs.com/now/story/0,1597,141215-311,00.shtml">Click
here: CBS.com--Cyberspace's Holiday Horrors</A>
Many of the new viruses are timed Trojan Horses set to lurk on your hard
drive and go off on Jan. 1.
***********************
CBS NEWS | SciTech
Cyberspace's Holiday Horrors
WASHINGTON
Friday, December 17,1999 - 07:20 PM ET
CBS
(CBS) CBS News Correspondent Wyatt Andrews sat down with a computer security
expert to show you how quickly and easily a virus can scuttle your hard drive.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
It's the one holiday gift you'd be crazy to open. A new breed of computer
virus. And in this holiday season, security experts say, you better watch
out: These viruses can crash your hard drive.
Both the FBI and several of the nation's largest computer security firms
have recently warned that several thousand new viruses have been unleashed
"in the wild." The reasons for the increase vary. First off, viruses based on
automated macros are so easy to launch almost anyone can do it, meaning the
universe of hackers has increased.
But the news gets worse. Many of the new viruses (one called "Mypics")
are timed Trojan Horses set to lurk on your hard drive and go off on Jan. 1.
In other words, your Y2K bug might not be a Y2K bug at all, but a data
eating virus masquerading as Y2K. According to Marc Sokol, vice president of
Computer Associates, "We are at Defcon 3. We're seeing more viruses in one
week now than we saw in the last six months, and these viruses can take your
computer down."
The company, which tracks and hunts viruses for both network clients and
it's own global network has detected thousands of these new invaders.
For our benefit, Sokol had his staff take a computer offline and rigged
it with "Mypics." And you'll love this part. "Mypics" has the ability to show
up in your e-mail in-box disguised as mail from a friend. (The virus can read
your address book.) The body of the e-mail reads simply, "Some pictures you
might want to see," but below was an attachment labeled "pics4u.exe." Sokol
clicked. Nothing happened.
Sites with virus information:
McAfee.com Corporation
Computer Associates International, Inc.
Symantec.com
Netscape Shareware
Except that the computer was infected at that point. To simulate New
Year's Day, Sokol forwarded the Windows calendar to Jan. 1, and within
seconds, we were looking at a black screen and the DOS prompt. I asked him,
"So you are telling me the virus is wiping out the hard drive?"
He answered, "As clear as if you bought it new." This is not your average
Melissa.
What to do? Security experts in the government and large corporations and
doing updated virus scans now several times a day. Good for them. What can we
do? Most PCs today come with built-in, commercial anti-virus software, but
you need to update now. Go to your software Web site. The updates are there.
Some of them are free.
Some experts also warn: Between now and Jan. 10, don't open attachments
or e-mailed Christmas cards without verifying authenticity with the sender.
The well-known commercial e-card vendors are perfectly reliable, but the
expert advice is simply to check with your friend first. Trust but verify.
Copyright 1999, CBS Worldwide Inc., All Rights Reserved.
©1999, CBS Worldwide Inc., All Rights Reserved.
Advertise With Us | Copyright Information | Privacy Statement
Bonnie
daughter of Jim 77/72
* * *
Live well * Laugh often * Love much
Join SPARKLE
