Security experts today warned of a Linux network worm that exploits holes in the Mambo content management system and the PHP XML-RPC library.
Dubbed Mare.D, the worm leaves multiple backdoors on infected systems. Two of these are connectback shell backdoors that link to a remote host, while a third allows the malware's writer to access and control infected systems via IRC.
A second worm attacking the Mac OS X has been discovered over the weekend. The OSX/Inqtana-A worm spreads between Apple Macintosh computers via a Bluetooth vulnerability. The new worm has appeared within days of the discovery of OSX/Leap-A, the first virus for Mac OS X.
A malicious computer worm has been found that targets Apple Computer Inc.'s Mac OS X operating system, believed to be the first such virus aimed specifically at the Mac platform.
The worm is called OSX/Leap-A, according to a posting on the Web site of antivirus software company Sophos, which said the worm is spread via instant messaging programs. The worm attempts to spread via Apple's iChat instant messaging program, which is compatible with America Online's popular AIM instant messaging program, according to the Sophos Web site.
A Trojan horse aimed at Apple's Mac OS X operating system has appeared, purporting to be screenshots of the company's forthcoming Mac OS X 10.5 operating system. The Trojan, dubbed "OSX/LeapA" by antivirus firms, can spread itself via the iChat instant messaging program and damage applications on a Mac OS X computer. Intego received a copy of this Trojan horse on February 14, 2006, after an Intego user discovered it on a Macintosh forum. The user expected the file to contain pre-release pictures of a new operating system, but instead it infected his system.
Malware authors are increasingly starting to create digital pests that use the Google search engine to find their next victim.
The automated vulnerability detection is the latest trend in a technique that is know as "Google hacking", McAfee's senior vice president for Risk Management George Kutz told vnunet.com after a presentation about the phenomenon at the RSA Security conference in San Jose.
Security experts have warned of a new malicious email that uses social engineering playing on the growing fear of an avian flu epidemic to trick users into visiting a malicious website.
Users receive an email with the subject "Attention Bird Flu in England." The body requests users to click on a link to go either of two websites to get more information. The email also claims the government is trying to hide the facts on the flu.
Upon clicking on a link, users are directed to a website that claims the user been blocked from accessing it.
A NETHERLANDS-BASED software developer who created a blog "worm" in an experiment that has spread to thousands of blogs worldwide, said that he is calling it quits and taking down his viral joke after getting flak from online communities.
he computer viruses known as "Kompu" and "Happytime" will attack China next week, but damage will be limited, predicted the Tianjin-based National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center on Sunday.
The center - the only anti-virus products testing and certification center authorized by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security - raised the alert about the two viruses, which are expected to hit the country from Feb. 6 to 12.
Trading was suspended for an hour at Russia's main stock exchange because of a computer virus, the Russian Trading Systems, or RTS, said Friday.
Data processing was paralyzed late Thursday afternoon as specialists rushed to localize the virus and switch off the infected computer, according to a statement from the exchange. No permanent damage was caused and no information was lost.
Spokeswoman Zoya Konovkova said it was not clear what virus had led to the shutdown.
Companies and individuals heeded this week's warning - some may call it "hype" - about a file-destroying computer worm known as "Kama Sutra," helping minimize its damage Friday, security experts said.
One Italian city shut down its computers as a precaution, but otherwise the worm's trigger date arrived with relatively few reports of problems.
