Program files designed to exploit two major vulnerabilities in Microsoft software are being used to attack computers, but security experts worry that worse--an MSBlast-type worm--could be ahead.
Another version of the Bagle mass-mailing computer worm started spreading this week, but it likely won't get far, security experts said.
The author of the latest variant of the Bagle worm has gone beyond penning just a piece of code: The writer has also included a poem in the document attachment on which the worm piggybacks.
The second version of a two-day-old virus, NetSky, has started spreading more successfully than its parent, antivirus researchers said on Wednesday.
A new version of the Bagle computer virus started spreading on Monday among PCs connected to the Internet, and antivirus companies warned that more variants are sure to come.
A worm that takes advantage of what some security experts describe as the most widespread Windows flaw ever has started spreading, while new analysis has uncovered a time bomb in the worm's code poised to unleash a furious denial of service attack at Microsoft itself.
The MSBlast worm supports the view that patches, while necessary to increase the security of specific computers, can't be relied upon to protect large networks.
Microsoft will work with law enforcement to track down writers of worms, viruses and other malicious code, and is ponying up US$5 million to fund the search.
SPECIAL REPORT Two decades and counting, the technology industry has yet to find a blanket solution to the ever-growing list of viruses and worms that constitute the greatest risk to computers on the Internet.
A hacker group releases code designed to exploit a widespread Windows flaw, paving the way for a major worm attack as soon as this weekend, security researchers warn.
Conceding that its strategy of patching Windows holes as they emerge has not worked, Microsoft plans next week to outline a new security effort focused on what the company calls "securing the perimeter," a company executive said.
Microsoft releases a cumulative patch for Internet Explorer, plugging a security hole that had been used by Trojan horse program QHosts to compromise consumers' PCs.
Microsoft released its first monthly security update on Wednesday, following a new schedule that attempts to ease the load on overburdened system administrators.
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