“A second Trojan used in the latest zero-day attack against Microsoft Office contains characteristics that pinpoint corporate espionage as the main motive, according to virus hunters tracking the threat,” Ryan Naraine reports for eWeek.
Naraine reports, “According to an alert from Symantec, a backdoor called Trojan.Riler.F is installing itself as a layered service provider, or LSP, allowing it access to every piece of data entering and leaving the infected computer.”
“Alfred Huger, senior director of engineering at Symantec, said the dirty PowerPoint file infects the machine with a piece of malware called Trojan.PPDropper.C which in turn drops two separate backdoors that give the attack unauthorized access to the compromised computer,” Naraine reports. “Symantec’s Huger said the sophisticated nature of the attacks suggest it is the work or well-organized criminals associated with industrial espionage… The F-Secure anti-virus team found backdoors connecting to China-hosted domains in March 2005, September 2005, March 2006, April 2006, May 2006 and July 2006.”
“Microsoft plans to issue a patch on August 8 for users of Microsoft PowerPoint 2000, Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 and Microsoft PowerPoint 2003,” Naraine reports. “In the meantime, anti-virus experts are urging Microsoft Office users to be on the lookout for suspicious attachments, even those that appear to come from colleagues internally.”
Full article here.
By the end of 2005, there were 114,000 known viruses for PCs. In March 2006 alone, there were 850 new threats detected against Windows. Zero for Mac. While no computer connected to the Internet will ever be 100% immune from attack, Mac OS X has helped the Mac keep its clean bill of health with a superior UNIX foundation and security features that go above and beyond the norm for PCs. When you get a Mac, only your enthusiasm is contagious. – click for more info.
[UPDATE: 12:45pm EDT: Changed headline from “Macintosh” to “Mac OS X.” Those who run Windows on their Macs are at risk, of course. That’s the fun of Windows. As Apple says on their Boot Camp page, “Windows running on a Mac is like Windows running on a PC. That means it’ll be subject to the same attacks that plague the Windows world. So be sure to keep it updated with the latest Microsoft Windows security fixes.” Try using Keynote instead and you’ll probably get a standing ovation when you give your next presentation.]
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Security company Sophos: Apple Mac the best route for security for the masses – December 06, 2005
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Thurrott: Microsoft collapsing under its own weight, Gates has driven Windows Vista into the ground – April 20, 2006
Dude, you got a Dell? What are you, stupid? Only Apple Macs run both Mac OS X and Windows! – April 05, 2006
Why buy a Dell when Apple’s Intel-based computers will run both Mac OS X and Windows? – June 08, 2005
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