Malicious software, worms, Trojans and computer viruses are on the increase, say security experts, as hackers, spammers and identity thieves seek new ways to steal information that can be used to empty bank accounts or spread electronic mayhem. Here, we present a look back at the 10 worst computer viruses of ever made:
Internet security experts are warning of a new rash of malware attacks that can hijack the security settings of a wide variety of devices on a local area network, even when they are hardened or don't run on Windows operating systems.
Tigger.A is still around and harassing those that didn't make use of Microsoft's MS08-066 patch to fix the vulnerability in its Ancillary Function Driver (AFD) that, when manipulated can allow for the elevation of privileges. What this basically means is that hackers are able to manipulate the AFD (afd.sys) in order to administer and obtain unauthorized access to a targeted system.
The third Conficker malware variant in infected machines is set to activate April 1, says the director of threat research at CA where the malware sample first discovered last week by Symantec is being examined.
The economic downturn is fuelling a massive surge in online crime, according to Scansafe.
In its annual Global Threat Report, the security company revealed an explosive growth in malware throughout 2008 and in particular Trojans designed to steal data, which were up by 1,559 per cent from 2007. October and November 2008 showed the highest levels of web malware but they also showed a heavy saturation of data-theft Trojans.
A third version of Downadup has been identified by Symantec, which says the new variant gives infected machines more powerful instructions to disable antivirus software and analysis tools, among other actions.
Kaspersky Lab’s annual report on threat evolution for 2008, shows there was a sharp increase in the number of malware attacks on online gaming accounts, as well as social networking sites.
The company's anti-virus software detected more than 23 million malware attacks worldwide, with China creating most malware programs, while Russian hackers and programs created the most sophisticated.
A relatively unknown data-stealing Trojan horse program that has claimed more than a quarter-million victims in the span of a few months aptly illustrates the sophistication of modern malware and the importance of a multi-layered approach to security.
When analysts at Sterling, Va., based security intelligence firm iDefense first spotted the trojan they call "Tigger.A" in November 2008, none of the 37 anti-virus products they tested it against recognized it. A month later, only one - AntiVir - detected it.
Is there a new generation of the so-called "Koobface" worm that's been plaguing social networking sites?
The Conficker worm has yet to eclipse Storm in terms of the total amount of chaos it created at any one time, but the botnet is proving annoyingly hard to kill. What began as an infection that took advantage of a handful of businesses with extremely slow patch validation cycles has become (and maintained itself) as a significant threat.
