Wouldn't it be wonderful if they gave a virus attack and nobody bit into it?
The date is drawing near for what might be the next Sober virus attack. Please use caution in opening any emails even if they appear to be from friends.
Some 'Quick Quotes' from Cnet.com's article linked below:
Hat tip to Papergirl8 - Check out her ebay auctions!
...thanks to another set of researchers at iDefense (link on original page not operative), we think January 5 or 6, 2006, either a Thursday or a Friday--just in time to fill everyone's e-mailbox with junk over the weekend--is the most likely of those dates for that attack to occur. -
Imagine sending a very large and sophisticated virus over e-mail--your ISP or company would certainly stop it dead at the gateway. So, virus writers have started sending out smaller versions that merely infect. Once installed, the small virus then opens a backdoor to call out to the predetermined Web server IP address from which it then loads a more sophisticated version of itself (or it transforms the infected PC into a conduit for spam, pornography, or a host of other malicious uses). -
Most of the Sober variants use a trigger delay; they install quickly but then sleep for a preset period of time before reaching out and contacting the Internet for a new download.
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Prevention
It's important to note that your PC must already be infected with Sober before it becomes a foot soldier in this expected January 5 assault. No infection, no participation. So clean your desktop computer now. For corporate systems, it's also important to create firewall rules that block IP requests to the January 5 addresses. According to F-Secure, the addresses to be contacted on January 5, 2006, include:...
AND ~ AND ~ AND !!!
Unfortunately, many PCs worldwide are connected to the Internet without antivirus protection. I expect to see some activity but not a full-out assault. Either way, keep your antivirus protection primed over the holidays and install a firewall if you haven't already. And don't be too surprised if you find a ton of junk e-mail in your in-box starting January 6, 2006, or you find your e-mail traffic is a little slower. It's Sober.
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