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View Full Version : WARNING! New virus on the loose!


stickman
01-28-2004, 17:38 PM
Hello everyone! In case you haven't already heard, there is a new virus on the loose as of yesterday. The name of this new virus is W32.Novarg.A@mm It is spreading fast across the internet, infecting everything with e-mail. I received several e-mails yesterday that were infected and in fact, my own computer was found to be infected as well. I have since deloused my computer and got yesterday's virus update applied (since I have been away from my computer for the last couple of days).

Here's Symantec's official description of this virus:

W32.Novarg.A@mm is a mass-mailing worm that arrives as an attachment with the file extension .bat, .cmd, .exe, .pif, .scr, or .zip.

When a computer is infected, the worm will set up a backdoor into the system by opening TCP ports 3127 through 3198, which can potentially allow an attacker to connect to the computer and use it as a proxy to gain access to its network resources.

In addition, the backdoor can download and execute arbitrary files.

The worm will perform a Denial of Service (DoS) starting on February 1, 2004. It also has a trigger date to stop spreading on February 12, 2004. These two events will only occur if the worm is run between or after those dates. While the worm will stop spreading on February 12, 2004, the backdoor component will continue to function after this date.

If you reveive any e-mails from people or sources you don't know, delete them, then empty your recycle bin on the desktop. These e-mails will come with different attachments on them DO NOT OPEN THE ATTACHMENTS!

If you think your computer may be infected, Symantec has a tool on their website you can use to scan your computer and identify any viruses found. You can find these tools at:

securityresponse.symantec.com

Rootsandwings
01-28-2004, 18:52 PM
Thanks for keeping us up to date on things like that! It helps us a lot!

Ranger
01-28-2004, 20:28 PM
Thanks for the INFO. I Will most definitely watch for it. I heard that it is one the worst ones to come out. IS that true.

Rinny
01-28-2004, 20:45 PM
Would a "Background.Trojan" be the same? I ran a scan and have that:(

*edited to answer my own question* Nope! lol

dave
01-28-2004, 20:56 PM
I don;t think so Rinny- Trojans and Worms are different animals.

I recieved this one in my box today. It came under the header "HELLO" and it was a .doc attachment. The strange part, the return address was someone I knew, but had never recieved an email from. She also stated she never even uses that account for email. LUCKILY, my Norton auto-updated yesterday so I didn't have to take any Penicillin.

Ranger
01-28-2004, 21:23 PM
Dang, Close Call, dave. I have not received it yet, but I am Prepared for it. (so I hope)

dave
01-28-2004, 21:54 PM
Ahh, I was mistaken. The virus was in a file: document.zip

I've actually gotten 2, both in quarantine.

MrTony
01-28-2004, 22:02 PM
The virus is also called MyDoom and you can find details about it at http://www.techtv.com/news/securityalert/story/0,24195,3603549,00.html and http://www.techtv.com/news/securityalert/story/0,24195,3602245,00.html. According to Leo Laporte who hosts the shows Call for Help and The Screen Savers on the TechTV channel this virus spoofs email addresses by going into the addressbooks on the computers making you think that the virus came from people you know even if they weren't infected.

stickman
01-29-2004, 01:20 AM
Originally posted by Ranger-007
Thanks for the INFO. I Will most definitely watch for it. I heard that it is one the worst ones to come out. IS that true.

I don't know about being the worst one, but it's definitely one that keeps turning up like a bad penny! It's gonna jam up a lot of e-mail servers and internet providers before it's over, that's for sure!

Peacemkr23237
01-29-2004, 06:30 AM
The good thing, if there is one, about viruses that transmit through email, almost always are in the form of an attachment. One of the best ways to prevent getting a virus is to never open an attachment unless you know ahead of time one is being sent to you. It's a good practice to email the sender, if you get an email with an attachment, to verify it is legitimate. Better safe than sorry.
The My Doom virus has a set time frame in when it will go active. If foget the exact dates but it will last something like 2 weeks. I think it's main intent is for a DOS attack on a Linux server(could be wrong) but it will leave remnants such as a key logger on your system.
Do the smart thing and get a good 3rd party firewall and KEEP your antivirus up to date. The built in firewall in XP is useless when it comes to key loggers. By design it doesn't monitor any outgoing traffic from your computer.(Key logger)

MrTony
01-29-2004, 13:08 PM
You can get a good third party free firewall from Zonelabs called Zone Alarm. Just go to this website: http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp and look towards the bottom rightside of the page to find the Zone Alarm (free) version to download. If you're not used to software firewalls it also comes with a short tutorial included after it is downloaded to help you set it up and know what it's doing.