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Joined: Oct 2000
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I don't know how much of a threat this really is, but I see results of antisocial behavior via the net every day. Dozens of virus-laden emails and mountains of SPAM every day. Many of the recent slow-downs and unavailability of ECN for several hours at a time have been the result of direct attacks against our servers by persons and computers unknown, from many different countries.
I'd like to thank a member here for their help in identifying what was going on. Bjarney sent me some info on a few things that started us looking into things a little deeper and we found out that some access delays were not normal.
I don't think the threat here is destruction of the physical connections. But computers being able to control other computers, even increasing levels of Spam being sent back and forth can really clog things up.
Bill
[This message has been edited by Bill Addiss (edited 08-02-2003).]
Bill
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Joined: Oct 2000
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bad monkey NJwirenut.... how else are they going to justify 3.8% of the GNP? run along now and duct tape your hard drive into a nice airtight bubble, and place your bets against the 'house' here [This message has been edited by sparky (edited 08-03-2003).]
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Joined: Aug 2001
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Hmmm...... Maybe I'm reading more into things than I should, but from comments (both here on ECN and in other forums) I'm detecting a lot of distrust over what the new DHS is actually trying to do. I notice that the INS has now gone as well, renamed to the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, now also under the auspices of Homeland Security too.
The "virus by e-mail" problem is one which should never have happened. As has been stated above, it's the software with little-to-zero security which allows executable stuff to be run from e-mail in the first place. There's no reason for that.
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Joined: Oct 2000
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I didn't mean this to seem like a "Doom and Gloom" type of warning, or to represent or spur anything Political in any way. I just wanted to point out something I read regarding yet another flaw in the Operating Systems many of us use.
Please take this as a reminder to keep your systems updated and your virus protection current.
Bill
[This message has been edited by Bill Addiss (edited 08-03-2003).]
Bill
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Joined: Sep 2002
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This particular hole is rather extreme and leaves the computer completely at the hands of the hacker. The fear is not hackers, but an e-mail virus or similar. It will be here soon, and no doubt cause massive problems.
I've installed the hotfix. I better get the other people in the office to do the same.
I thought Unix was good until I started using it. In reality it is difficult to use and less stable than Windows. Sure, it was better than DOS, Win 3.11 or Win 95. But I run Win 2000, which is rock steady. It has never crashed, although my CAD software goes down every ten or fifteen minutes. The Unix workstations crashed several times a day. But unix is great for some things, like the firewall. It has been up for months without any problem what so ever. And it runs from a floppy disk! The last Windows version to do that was 3.1
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It is disgusting that so many resources in datacomm have to be dedicated to limit the effects of malicious code.
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Joined: Nov 2002
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What I find disgusting is the large number of antisocial people willing to write malicious code and the even larger number of people willing to use that code.
The 'Net has never been the same since the malcontents made their presence felt.
MacWire
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Joined: Oct 2000
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Some updated info on this:
AN internet-borne infection incapacitated tens of thousands of computers today, snarling company networks and frustrating home users as it spread across the globe.
Security officials said the virus-like worm, dubbed "LovSan", was part of a coordinated electronic attack that exploited one of the most serious flaws yet discovered in Microsoft Corp's Windows operating systems.
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In Sweden, internet provider TeliaSonera said about 20,000 of its customers were affected after the infection clogged 40 servers that handled internet traffic.
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Computers infected by LovSan were programmed to automatically launch an attack Saturday on windowsupdate.com, a web site Microsoft uses to avail customers of software patches that can prevent such infections.
above from >> Virus hits Asia, Europe networks Virus Infection Spreads in Asia, Europe (ABC News) Get the Patch if you haven't gotten it already. Bill
Bill
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more: Blaster is fairly unusual in that it does not spread specifically by e-mail. It can travel through a normal Internet connection.
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Blaster's author has programmed the worm to knock the Microsoft site offline August 16, the experts said.
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Once Blaster infects a computer it scans the Internet for other vulnerable machines to attack. In some cases the worm causes the computer to crash, but does not infect it.
"It's dangerous from the perspective that it can consume a lot of bandwidth," said Russ Cooper of TruSecure. "Every compromised machine is constantly attacking."
In January, a worm known as Slammer, which exploited a hole in Microsoft SQL database software, brought automatic teller machines in the United States to a standstill, paralyzed corporate networks worldwide and nearly shut down Web access to South Korea.
from >> New Worm Mocks 'Billy' Gates
Bill
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Joined: Oct 2001
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Bill, This worm made the local news last night. I verified that my Virus List included the name used in the newscast and went to bed. It is also known as MBlaster, W32/Lovsan.worm, MSBlast, W32.blaster.worm, Win32.posa.worm, Win32.poza.worm This morning I checked Microsoft Update to verify that the operating system patch was in place in my computer, and, after a loooonngg wait, got a "Server Too Busy". First time I've seen that at MSUpdate! There's a lot of activity, apparently, surrounding this issue. The newscast included solutions from The Geek Squad . These guys do house calls in black & white VWs (queue the theme music to "Ghostbusters") and are a highly respected local phenomena that is expanding to a few other locations. This link (above) is to a page on their site that explains how to clean up after an infestation.
Al Hildenbrand
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