Viruses & Malware

Ever since classes started for students a month ago at Rollins College, a worm has been eating their homework.
A virus-like worm has infected the small college's computer network, slowing Internet use to a crawl and forcing some students off campus to do research.

The school's computer technology team said Thursday that they have cleaned the system by going door to door on campus until 11 p.m. the last few days, looking for computers infected with the virus, known as W32.Welchia.

A computer virus has hit the State Department, affecting the performance of the government's information technology system that manages visa approvals, according to reports.

The virus shut down the State Department's Consular Lookout and Support System (CLASS) on Tuesday, according to published reports from Reuters and the Associated Press. A State Department representative reached Wednesday by CNET News.com would not confirm that the system had crashed but indicated that IT personnel were working on a problem.

Victims of the Lovsan/Blaster virus outbreak already know that simply installing an anti-virus application is no longer enough to protect against increasingly complex virus hybrids designed to wreak havoc on workstations and servers across the globe.

As anyone who has an e-mail account knows, the past few weeks have seen unprecedented virus attacks on computers around the world. With names like Sobig, Blaster and Welchia, these viruses are the bane of many an IT department--not to mention an "I was here" calling card for their nose-thumbing authors.

The latest email worm to exploit a flaw in Internet Explorer is called 'Swen'.

The worm, also nicknamed 'Gibe', is spreading via email, Internet relay chat, shared networks, and the p2p network Kazaa.

The email claims to be from Microsoft, and offers to patch holes in Internet Explorer, Outlook, and Outlook Express.

It then mails itself to other addresses stored on the infected computer.

The worm also attempts to deactivate anti-virus and personal firewall programs running on a victim's computer.

The countdown to the next Windows web worm outbreak has begun.
Malicious hackers are starting to circulate computer code that exploits recently found vulnerabilities in some versions of Microsoft's Windows operating system.

The MSBlast worm that struck in August exploited similar vulnerabilities and caused havoc for many net-using firms.

Security experts are urging people to patch their computer systems to avoid the attentions of any web worm written to take advantage of these new loopholes.

The frequency of previous Sobig variant infections suggests we should be bracing ourselves for the next iteration of the fast-spreading worm any day now. Sobig has caused havoc for computer users over the past few months, but the latest variant died out on 10 September and now it is only a matter of time until the next one strikes, according to leading anti-virus experts.

Motorola Inc. and Microsoft Corp. launched a clam-shell format cell phone Monday, based on Microsoft's Windows Mobile 2003 Smartphone software.

Mobile network operator Orange SA will distribute the phone for use on its U.K. network from October, and AT&T Corp. will offer it in the U.S. in the fourth quarter, the companies said Monday.

Normally, the aisles are fully stocked at one of the large computer stores where I shop.

But a recent trip to buy anti-virus software found me looking at picked-over shelves, with little left.

Perhaps the Blaster worm and

SoBig.F virus provided the wake-up call many of us needed regarding anti-virus software.

The two malware programs certainly caught my attention. I had anti-virus software on my computer, but my subscription for software updates had lapsed.

Since last month's huge blackout, utilities have accelerated plans to automate the electric grid, replacing aging monitoring systems with digital switches and other high-tech gear.
But those improvements are making the electricity supply vulnerable to a different kind of peril: computer viruses and hackers who could black out substations, cities or states.

Researchers working for the U.S., Canadian and British governments have sniffed out "back doors" in the digital relays and control room technology that increasingly direct electricity flow in North America.