Showing posts with label computer viruses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label computer viruses. Show all posts

Monday, July 9, 2012

Hot To Fix A Machine Infected With DNSChanger

If you see this or similar warnings when using Google or other services, then be sure to check your system for malware. (Credit: CNET)

How To Detect And Fix A Machine Infected With DNSChanger -- CNet

The FBI will be closing the DNSChanger network on Monday, after which thousands worldwide are expected to no longer be able to access the Internet.

On July 9, the FBI will close down a network of DNS servers that many people have been depending on for proper Internet access. These servers were originally a part of a scam where a crime ring of Estonian nationals developed and distributed a malware package called DNSChanger, but which the FBI seized and converted to a legitimate DNS service.

This malware scam has been widespread enough that even third-party companies like Google and Facebook and a number of ISPs like Comcast, COX, Verizon, and AT&T have joined in the effort to help remove it by issuing automatic notifications to users that their systems are configured with the rogue DNS network.

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My Comment: If you are reading this, your computer is probably clean.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

The USB Stick That Deletes All Viruses

Fix Me: Stick the USB key into your PC and it will stop Windows from loading - and scan your computer for errors

The USB Stick That You Plug Into Your Computer - And Then It Deletes All The Viruses -- Daily Mail

Getting a virus cleaned off your computer can be a burden at the best of times.

But now a new USB stick aims to make it far easier by giving you the same tools as the professionals - and all you have to do is plug it in.

The FixMeStick supposedly finds the files which other anti-virus programmes miss by using powerful anti-virus software normally used by computer technicians.

All users have to do is put it into a USB slot on their PC and it will do the rest.

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My Comment: The firm that manufactures this tech is in Montreal .... and I live in Montreal. I guess I should pay them a visit and report more later.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Iran Is Claiming That It Has Defeated The Newest Computer Virus Directed At Them

Graphic showing the number and location of Flame infections, a malicious software virus infiltrating the Middle East

Iran Claims To Have Beaten 'Flame' Computer Virus -- The Telegraph

Iran claims it has defeated a powerful computer virus that has boasted unprecedented data-snatching capabilities and could eavesdrop on computer users, a senior official said.

Ali Hakim Javadi, Iran's deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technology, told the official IRNA news agency that Iranian experts have already produced an antivirus capable of identifying and removing "Flame" from computers.

Iran's government-run Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center has said the Flame virus was focused on espionage.

Javadi did not say whether any Iranian government bodies or industries were affected by the virus.

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More News On The 'Flame' Computer Virus

Iran Says It's Produced Antivirus to Newly Detected Flame -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Iran claims it has fix for Flame malware -- TG Daily
Iran: 'Flame' virus fight began with oil attack -- AP
Iran: Powerful "Flame" computer virus briefly hit oil industry but was defeated with data recovered -- CBS/AP
Iran defeats powerful ‘Flame’ virus, military official claims -- Toronto Star/AP
Iran acknowledges that Flame virus has infected computers nationwide -- Washington Post
Iran confirms Flame virus attacked computers of high-ranking officials -- The Telegraph

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The 'Flame' Virus Ups The Ante For Cyberwar

A cyber warfare expert holds a notebook computer while posing for a portrait in Charlotte in this December 2011 file photo. A United Nations agency charged with helping member nations secure their national infrastructures plans to issue a sharp warning about the risk of the Flame virus that was recently discovered in Iran and other parts of the Middle East. John Adkisson/Reuters/Files

Beyond Stuxnet: Massively Complex Flame Malware Ups Ante For Cyberwar -- Christian Science Monitor

Flame is something new in cyberwar, experts say. It can take screenshots and record audio on infected computers. The malware was almost certainly made by a nation-state.

Stuxnet move over. Cybersecurity researchers on Monday announced the discovery of Flame, a piece of malicious software that one firm has called "arguably ... the most complex malware ever found."

At this early stage of analysis, only a few of Flame's functions are understood, reports Kaspersky Lab, the Boston-based cybersecurity company that uncovered it. Because of Flame's size and complexity, it could take years to unpack completely what the program can – and has – done, experts add.

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My Comment:
There are only 4 countries capable of doing this .... the US, Russia, China, and Israel. Who is the guilty party .... my money is on all 4 of them.

Is Israel Behind The Super-Virus Targeting Iran?


Israel Hints It May Be Behind Super-Virus Targeting Iran -- The Independent

'Flame' cyber attacks that can steal vast amounts of sensitive data come as Tehran nuclear talks falter.

A top Israeli minister yesterday fed speculation that the Jewish state could be responsible for a powerful new virus said to have been used in a fresh attack on computers in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East.

The discovery of the unprecedented complex data-stealing "Flame" virus was disclosed by a Russian-based digital security firm Kaspersky Lab. Its experts reported on Monday that it had been applied most actively in Iran, but also in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

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My Comment: If Israel was behind the development of this virus .... they would be saying nothing.

Monday, May 28, 2012

A New Sophisticated Cyber Weapon 'Flame' Discovered In The Middle East

A sophisticated cyber-espionage virus called 'Flame' was found in the Middle East targeting Iran primarily said Russian software security group Kapersky. (SecureList/Courtesy)

Flame: World's Most Complex Computer Virus Exposed -- The Telegraph

The world's most complex computer virus, possessing a range of complex espionage capabilities, including the ability to secretly record conversations, has been exposed.

Middle Eastern states were targeted and Iran ordered an emergency review of official computer installations after the discovery of a new virus, known as Flame.

Experts said the massive malicious software was 20 times more powerful than other known cyber warfare programmes including the Stuxnet virus and could only have been created by a state.

It is the third cyber attack weapon targeting systems in the Middle East to be exposed in recent years.

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More News On The Latest Computer Virus

New Computer Virus Looks Like a Cyberweapon -- New York Times
Cyber weapon ‘Flame’ discovered in thousands of Middle East computers -- Financial Post/Reuters
Computer worm that hit Iran oil terminals 'is most complex yet' -- The Guardian
Powerful 'Flame' Computer Virus Hits Iran, Mideast -- Radio Free Europe
New computer virus hits Iran, West Bank in unprecedented cyberattack -- Haaretz
A new era of cyber warfare: Virus 'weapon' has siphoned secrets from thousands of PCs in Middle East undetected for five years -- Daily Mail
Massive targeted cyber-attack in Middle East uncovered -- CNet
The 'Flame' Computer Virus Strikes Iran, 'Worse Than Stuxnet' -- Arutz Sheva
Complex cyberwar tool 'Flame' found ALL OVER Middle East -- Register
Spy virus 'Flame' infects Middle East -- News 24
Massive cyberattack 'Flame' discovered in the Middle East -- Global Post
'Flame' espionage malware has infected computers across the Middle East -- Wired
‘Flame,’ a cyberweapon that makes Stuxnet look cheap -- Beyond the Beyond.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Stuxnet Still Remains A Top U.S. Security Risk

Image: COMPUTER THREAT: Stuxnet, the computer worm that attacked a ubiquitous form of controller for infrastructure, could still pose challenges in the U.S. Image: flickr/cyberhades

Stuxnet-Like Viruses Remain a Top U.S. Security Risk -- Scientific American

Government officials and security researchers say critical systems should never be connected to the Internet, but they frequently are.

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security revealed a rash of cyber attacks on natural gas pipeline companies. Just as with previous cyber attacks on infrastructure, there was no known physical damage. But security experts worry it may only be a matter of time.

Efforts to protect pipelines and other critical systems have been halting despite broad agreement that they're vulnerable to viruses like Stuxnet — the mysterious worm that caused havoc to Iran's nuclear program two years ago.

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My Comment: Stuxnet has been around for a while .... it is troubling to see that they have yet found a way to contain it.