[IP] Huge virus threat rocks Microsoft
Begin forwarded message:
From: EEkid@xxxxxxx
Date: January 3, 2006 2:02:17 PM EST
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Huge virus threat rocks Microsoft
Mr. Farber,
This can't be a new discovery, I witnessed a virus infection from
simply visiting a web page well over a year ago.
Jerry
Huge virus threat rocks Microsoft
Report says a newly discovered flaw could expose hundreds of millions
of Windows PCs to virus.
January 3, 2006: 11:08 AM EST
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The new year is off to a rocky start at
Microsoft, where security experts are scrambling to confront a
potentially massive virus threat to Windows PCs.
According to a report Tuesday in the Financial Times, the latest
vulnerability involves a flaw which allows hackers to infect
computers using programs inserted into image files. The threat was
discovered last week. But it mushroomed over the weekend, when a
group of hackers published the source code they used to exploit the
flaw.
What makes this threat particularly vicious, according to the Times,
is that unwitting victims can infect their computers simply by
viewing a web page, e-mail, or instant message that includes a
contaminated image. That differs from most virus attacks, which
require a user to actually download an infected file.
"The potential [security threat] is huge," Mikko Hypponen, chief
research officer at F-Secure, an antivirus company, told the Times.
"It's probably bigger than for any other vulnerability we've seen.
"Any version of Windows is vulnerable right now," said Mr. Hypponen,
including every Windows system shipped since 1990.
Microsoft (Research) said in a security bulletin on its Web site, "we
are working closely with our antivirus partners and aiding law
enforcement in its investigation."
http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/03/technology/windows_virusthreat/
index.htm?cnn=yes
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