|
SINGAPORE - A new Internet virus has
been detected that can infect Microsoft's Windows platforms
faster than previous computer worms, said an anti-virus
computer software maker.
The ZOTOB virus appeared shortly
after the world's largest software maker warned of three newly
found "critical" security flaws in its software,
including one that could allow attackers to take complete
control of a computer.
The latest worm exploits security
holes in Microsoft's Windows 95, 98, ME, NE, 2000 and XP
platforms and can give computer attackers remote access to
affected systems, said Trend Micro Inc.
"Hundreds of infection reports
were sighted in the United States and Germany,"
Tokyo-based Trend Micro said in a statement released late last
week. "Since most users may not be aware of this
newly announced security hole so as to install the necessary
patch during last weekend, we can foresee more infections from
WORM_ZOTOB," it said.
The latest virus drops a copy of
itself into the Windows system folder as BOTZOR.EXE and
modifies the system's host file in the infected user's
computer to prevent the user getting online assistance from
antivirus web sites, Trend Micro added.
It can also connect to a specific
Internet relay chat server and give hackers remote control
over affected systems, which can be used to infect other
unpatched machines in a network and slow down the network
performance.
Last Tuesday, Microsoft issued
patches to fix its security flaws as part of its monthly
security bulletin. The problems affect the Windows operating
system and Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser.
Microsoft has warned that an attacker
could exploit a vulnerability in its Internet Explorer Web
browser and lure users to malicious Web pages, and could run a
software code on the user's PC giving the attacker control of
the affected computer.
Computer users should update their
anti-virus pattern files and apply the latest Microsoft
patches to protect their computer systems, Trend Micro said.
More than 90 percent of the world's
PCs run on the Windows operating system and Microsoft has been
working to improve the security and reliability of its
software.
|
