In a livejournal post, a University of Michigan student describes her frustrating experience with a Mytob infection. There are literally hundreds of variants of Mytob, but in general Mytob variants are mass-mailing email worms that compromise system security by terminating processes related to various antivirus software. The Mytob family also typically disables the XP SP2 firewall, and modifies the HOSTS file to prevent access to antivirus updates and certain other websites. Depending on the Mytob variant, in addition to the email vector the worm may also automatically infect susceptible (unpatched) systems via the Internet by exploiting the LSASS vulnerability (MS04-011) or a buffer overrun vulnerability in the RPC interface (MS03-026).

Supply and demand: This basic tenet of commerce is equally applicable to criminal activities. It goes hand in hand with the old adage "where there's a will, there's a way". In the case of phishing email, as long as people fall for the tricks, the tricks will keep on coming. And there's definitely a will to keep the gravy train flowing. Having the keys to your online kingdom gives the phisher the means to access your account(s), view your profile and glean other information that can be used for everything from credit card fraud to outright identity theft.

Most hotels today offer amenities geared to the 'Net-hungry traveler: Wireless access (often free) throughout the hotel or in the lobby area, ethernet cables in hotel rooms, and business centers in the hotel lobby equipped with PCs and printers.

Plagued by spyware and adware that keeps reinstalling itself everytime you remove it? If you haven't kept your security patches up to date, the resuscitating spyware and adware may be the result of an Internet worm that reinfects your computer each time you access the Internet. Once the worm is in place - which will happen silently and without any action on your part - the worm installs a remote-access Trojan that then downloads adware and spyware and installs it to your system. All without your knowledge or consent. And it's not a single worm you need to worry about - there are multitudes of them circulating every corner of cyberspace.

To continue surfing safely, security patches must be installed as soon as they are available from vendors. Microsoft releases patches on a predictable cycle: mark your calenders to check for Microsoft patches the second Tuesday of each month. Apple doesn't have a predictable schedule, check for Apple security updates weekly. If you use Firefox, check for Mozilla Firefox security updates at least weekly.

AutoComplete not only makes it easier for you to automatically fill in forms and logon to secure sites - it also makes it easier for Trojans and hackers to gain access to your personal data and logon credentials. Here's how to clear the sensitive data stored by AutoComplete and how to disable the feature to protect yourself from compromise.

AutoComplete not only makes it easier for you to automatically fill in forms and logon to secure sites - it also makes it easier for Trojans and hackers to gain access to your personal data and logon credentials. Here's how to clear the sensitive data stored by AutoComplete and how to disable the feature to protect yourself from compromise.

Trojans are often used to launch Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against targeted systems, but just what is a DDoS attack and how are they performed?

In its simplest form, behavior blocking monitors file activities, preventing certain modifications to the operating system or related files. For example, behavior blockers may monitor the system registry, and warn users accordingly if a file being executed is attempting to modify it. Some programs, of course, do this legitimately, i.e. a SETUP program. Other files, however, may have malicious intent. The key benefit to a behavior blocker is that it questions whether the action was expected and whether the user wants to allow it.

A threat considered high risk by antivirus vendors McAfee and Trend has confusingly been given three different names: Antivirus vendors have been tasked with standardizing virus naming since an ICSA sponsored meeting in November of 1991. Nearly a decade later, the Creative, aka ProLin/Shockwave worm/Trojan points out the deficiencies in the adoption of this system. As users become more aware of virus issues and seek out information on newly released viruses, their efforts are frustrated by the lack of adherence to any real naming convention.