MyDoom outlook looks grim
MyDoom outlook looks grim
The MyDoom mass-mailing virus looks set to spread throughout computer programmes for maybe months and years.
When it is opened on a PC, the virus install software which allows it to bypass the PC's security and turn the system into a bounce point, or proxy, for any network-based attack.
It has programmed infected PCs to send data to the SCO Group's Web server between February 1st and February 12th.
There is a possibility that other online troublemakers could find a way to launch attacks through the infected PCs. Alfred Huger, senior director of engineering for security software firm Symantec said: "For people that handle incident response, (the proxies) will cause problems. This is going to hang around and hound us for a long time - if Code Red is any indication, for years."
The Code Red worm infected Windows computers running Microsoft's Web server software, called Internet Information Server. Although it started its attack in July 2001, tens of thousands of computers are still infected by the worm, which is still looking for fragile systems to infect.
My Doom is also know as Novarg and Mimial.R. When it is executed, a dialog windows appears informing the user that their Microsoft Windows' licence has expired. It then asks the victim to enter personal information, including a credit card number.
About one in ever 12 messages being sent through the internet contains this virus, according to MessageLabs. Compared to the previously most persistent worm, called Sobig F., which infiltrated one in every 17 email messages.
The virus affects computers running Windows versions 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 and XP, and arrives in the user's in-box as an email message that appears to be an error response from an email server.
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