Are you safe from hackers' latest trick?
Posted 20 March 2007 at 10:23AM by Simon Dickson in Internet security
Hackers are using new tactics to disguise their malicious code, trying to outsmart your computer's anti-virus protection.
More than half the malware threats identified by Oxford-based security specialists Sophos in February used a tool called HckPk to make email attachments seem legitimate. It allows hackers to generate thousands of variants of the same basic virus, making it more difficult for anti-virus software to spot.
According to Sophos analyst Graham Cluley, it's a sign that virus writers have grown up. His colleague Carole Theriault warns: 'Users need to check that their anti-virus protection can proactively detect against previously unseen malware, otherwise they could be next in a long line of victims.'
The monthly Sophos review shows that one in every 256 emails in circulation was classed as 'infected'. They added more than 7,750 new nasties to their lists, bringing the total to more than 222,000.
Yet people are falling for the same old traps every time. Large numbers of people are still forwarding an email warning of a virus in a Budweiser Frogs screensaver, despite the fact that it's (a) roughly ten years old; and (b) completely inaccurate anyway.
Tags: anti-virus, hoax, security, virus
New feature: Rate this post!
Average rating: 3.7/5
Comments
2. At March 21, 2007 10:10 AM, Clive Pennington wrote:
thankyou for keeping business up to date
Post a comment
As 14 days have passed, comments are now closed for this entry.
1. At March 20, 2007 3:41 PM, Rodney Marks wrote: