Microsoft: Worms Still Biggest Security Threat

The Conficker worm, a computer worm built to target Microsoft Windows operating systems, continues to be one of the most prevalent security threats to PCs using Windows, reports a recent Microsoft security brief.

First detected in 2008, the Conficker worm spreads by exploiting flaws in Windows software, as well as infected media, to co-opt machines and link them to another computer, through which the infected PCs can be commanded remotely.

According to Microsoft's most recent Security Intelligence Report, in the first six months of 2009, 5 million computers were infected with Conficker.

Taterf, another kind of worm that spreads through mapped drives (such as USB sticks) and targets online gamers, infected nearly as many computers as Conficker: Microsoft reports that it was removed from computers more than 4.9 million times in the first half of 2009.

Businesses beware: Microsoft notes that the worms seem to pose the greatest threat to enterprises.

What's really interesting is that worms made up four of the top five threats we detected in the enterprise [...] but only one of the top 10 threats in the home [...]

As PC World writes, worms have been a major concern for Microsoft, and the company has attempted to respond quickly to past attacks:

Conficker alarmed Microsoft so much when it appeared that Microsoft issued an emergency patch in October 2008 for the software vulnerability that allowed it to spread rapidly.

The report boasts that the first week it was available, Microsoft Security Essentials was installed over 1.5 million times and detected almost 4 million threats.

Microsoft's efforts may have been appreciated not only by those installing them, but those perpetrating the attacks: the company reportedly received an e-mail from the creators of Zlob, a Trojan horse, announcing that they planned on "closing soon" and complimenting Microsoft on responding quickly to the threats.

The Microsoft report also examined security by region (see map below), finding that different parts of the world faced varying threats. PC World sums up the findings:

Trojan horse programs -- which can download other malicious software -- were the biggest threat in the U.S., U.K., France and Italy. Malicious software aimed at online banking was problematic in Brazil, while worms were a dominant threat in Spain and South Korea, Microsoft said.

Infection rates by country/region, 1H09, expressed in CCM (Computers Cleaned Per Mil)

The figures cited in Microsoft's most recent security brief do not include its new operating system, Windows 7.

Download the full report here.

Comments

[CommonTator]

And finally, the next time you download a file, and you're not sure it's safe, upload it to either virustotal.com or virusscan.­jotti.org.

Both of these websites allow you to upload any file (under a certain size) and get it scanned by dozens of anti-virus­/anti-malw­are scanners.

Please note that virus scanners of any kind can produce false positives, and a file coming back "clean" according to them also does not guarantee it's safety.

But once again, they're great sites that can keep your system from getting infected from a questionable file.

I'm not going to go into the whole use virus scanners/f­irewall/up­date windows thing. Everyone's heard all of that already.

But not everyone has heard of these tools, and they can do a lot to keep you from disaster.

And best of all, each of them is free.

[monoxboogie]

I've got to say thanks hoss. Not much computer knowledge on my end so thanks for the heads up.

[CommonTator]

For one, the people who have already recommended switching from internet explore to firefox are right to.

If you choose to download firefox, I highly recommend also downloading an extension for it called noscript (googling noscript will take you right to it).

What this does is universally disable certain functions on websites that can allow them to install malware to your computer.

In the process, it breaks functions that you want to use on websites that you know are safe.

So it works on a whitelist principal. If you know a site is safe, you tell noscript so, and it will no longer disable these functions on those sites.

It probably sounds like much more of a pain than it actually is, and it's a fantastic tool to have in your security arsenal.

Also, google and check out a program called sandboxie.

Sandboxie is a piece of software that runs your programs in an isolated space so that they can not make changes to data on your harddrive.

What this means is that if you run your web browser "inside" of a sandbox, and you accidentally pick up a virus, the virus will not be able to escape from the sandbox and infect your hard drive.

It takes a little setting up, but is another great tool to help keep your system clean.

[CommonTator]

Please don't take the following as a defense of Microsoft.

But the primary (read: not only) reason that mac users suffer from fewer malware problems is that less malware is written for them, because there are fewer of them out there.

There simply is not as much money/power in writing malware for macs as there is for windows xp, for example.

If there was a surge in mac ownership, there would follow a similar surge in malware that affects macs.

No single operating system presents the biggest barrier to security.

The biggest (in my opinion) barrier to security is that security and ease-of-use exist in a see-saw balance, and many people want the one but cannot be bothered with the other.

And I don't blame them. You shouldn't have to spend hours and hours and hours learning, and then implementing that knowledge just so that you can check your e-mail and do some online banking.

I think I'm gonna recommend a few things that people can do in another post, so I have room to explain a little about them.

[ChiGuy]

I won't buy a Mac because I'm afraid of a different th reat.

I fear becoming a smug a##h#le.

[sgmorr]

How would anyone notice?

[ChiGuy]

Because you won't find my name on any self-righteous post bleating about how wonderful my Mac is and how inferior anything else will be.

That's how.
You're welcome.

[monsterofNone]

as opposed to a dumb a##h#le.

[ChiGuy]

Good point!

I fear becoming like you as well.

[rissole]

I use Linux so I'm not really concerned about how badly Microsoft Windows was designed.

[Amock]

I use Ubuntu so I could care less about worms,virus,spyware and all that other crap that seems to cribble Microsoft/MAC

[Livid]

Well, the horrendous job Microsh*t has done in designing and debugging its many versions of Windows is precisely the reason why these worms viruses have an opportunity.

It is amazing to me that Microsh*t has not been the target of the largest class action suit in the history of the world -- past and future.

5 years and $5 billion produced Vista, a total piece of junk. Now comes Windows 7, which is STILL vulnerable.

Unf**king believable.

[msjimmied]

Having been attacked twice this year, I am no longer amused. Don't start...I had the anti-virus. firewall, the works. Did not matter. The ones that start bleeping all those lights and MS wannabe signs about viruses are really stupid! like, I will click on the link and pay you to go away? However, by that point, the damage is done. Yeah, I tried cleaning files etc from the registry that were hijacked etc. recovery from a different time point...it will be good for while, but somehow I must have missed something because I would be more vulnerable. The only way to really clean it out was to reformat the hard drive and install everything from scratch. It's a criminal waste of my time and resources.
This is more than a mere nuisance, and its getting worse. In the last 18 years or so of the internet, this is the first year I have dealt with so much cr@p! I've been using this tool from the time when having 20mgs memory installed was a big deal, and getting anything done meant swapping real "floppy disks"! It is getting out of hand. I am sure Microsoft is aware of it, I cannot be the only one noticing this flare up.

[monsterofNone]

quit torturing yourself and get a mac.

[wsmcke]

Get Windows 7.

[TheCommons]

When Macs are cheaper maybe, but not until.

[sgmorr]

I'm a Mac and I don't run an antivirus, antispyware, antiadware, antiworm, or any other worthless ad-on stuff that tries to do what the OS itself should be doing. Microsoft is a disgusting failure. I cannot believe that MS's billions and billions and billions of dollars cannot create an OS that is secure out of the box just like Apple's Mac OS X is.

[JiminNC]

Funny, I thought Windows was the biggest security threat ...

[monsterofNone]

beat me to it.

[ThinkCreeps]

Worms agree: Microsoft Still Biggest Security Threat

[fcsakes]

The best anti-virus programs are free. For the last twenty years, the first thing I do when I bring a new computer home is remove all the "trial" junk from the machine immediately. One of the best free anti-virus programs is AVG (free for home users only), another is Security Essentials (a MS product). The best firewall around, which also happens to have a free version for home users is Zone Alarm.

Only one anti-virus, one firewall per computer.

However, there can and should be multiple anti-malware/adware packages, all free or close to it, all tested, verified, bug and snarl free. Visit komando.com, she's got all the links to safe, and mostly free, security downloads. I cannot recommend her enough as she has never once given me a bum steer and I have never had a virus or any other nasty on any of my computers by following her recommendations and advice.

Never use Internet Explorer for browsing. ....stepping down off bandwagon now...

[TFlint]

Why would I use an anti virus program? I use a Mac.

[fcsakes]

Oh please, you people are so tiresome. Mac is starting to encounter some problems now that's it's been shouting for so long about its superiority. You can catch up later.

A lot of people with PCs would love to have a Mac, they just don't want to pay the overinflated price tag.

[craphappens]

Boy, I agree AVG is the best. I worked with Symectic and Norton, but neither could get rid of all the crap that had decided to homestead in my computer. Plus I couldn't download MS Security Essentials for some reason. Within thirty minutes of putting AVG on, I was rid of everything! It was a miracle! At first I went nuts because every time I keyed in something the malware would set up on my computer. But thankfully AVG did it's work and I no longer have any malware or viruses.

[sadwitness]

Should one use Firefox for browsing? My only options are explorer and Firefox- currently anyway.

[lee959]

I wont even open internet explorer but I have had some bad experiences with Firefox. I tried to love it but it's just too buggy for me. Chrome from Google is my preferred browser now. Give it a try.

[Parthenolide]

So why hasn't, or why can't Microsoft fix their exploits? The exploits exist as a part of the Microsoft marketing strategy. Let's say Microsoft makes some software product, and a competing software company makes a similar product. Microsoft has been known to purchase its competition outright. Then, Microsoft will use an exploit to launch a search-and-destroy program. The program will kill the software from the company it purchased forcing those customers to purchase replacement software from Microsoft. Microsoft's nickname, the Dark Empire is well deserved.

These exploits were identified in Department of Justice filing for antitrust actions against Microsoft. China, North Korea, the NSA, the CIA, and other hostile states also know about these Microsoft exploits and have used them for there own purposes. For some fun, look at the articles on how computers from His Holiness, the Dahli Lama were exploited by a remote access terminal (RAT) malware developed by China. This RAT wound up on the computers of thousand of diplomats from about 80 countries around the world.

[lee959]

There seems to be this, I will be nice and say naive, view that Microsoft is the Great Satan when it comes to security issues. I have used every single Microsoft operating system released going back to the earliest versions of DOS and Microsoft is not guiltless when it comes to it's operating systems but a rather large amount of blame needs to be placed at the feet of the end user, that's you folks. First the majority of you don't know the first thing about how your computer operates and you assume zero responsibility in learning. You just want it to work. To a degree that is understandable. A lot of you don't know the first thing about your automobiles and that ignorance costs you an arm and a leg when your car needs service. So Microsoft, in a effort to please you, the end user, creates bloated, overly complex software to make your computer lives easier. The more complex a system, any system, not just computer systems, the more vulnerabilities there are that can be exploited. There is no such thing as being safe and secure. Knowledge is your greatest weapon. I don't use a virus scanner and only use the windows firewall and I haven't had an incident in over a decade. I'm not a geek either. Just been using these things a long long time.

[egaeus]

I've had a theory for years that viruses are created by software companies who sell anti-virus programs.

[raw6464]

As long as somebody can make money on viruses, there will ALWAYS be viruses... MS until recently with the release Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) was making money by selling software to "protect" their own product which has been attacked for over 20 years.... a Bill Gates' perfect storm.

Think about it. it's not far fetched... Norton/McAfee having two departments, the one in the basement writing the viruses and the one on the first floor writes the fixes... what a business plan.

[Parthenolide]

Linux is a great alternative to Windows. A magazine article once stated, Window's security is like stealing candy from a baby. With Linux, it like stealing candy from a baby, except the baby is locked in a secure vault located on the moon.

Linux was designed from its inception to be secure. Linux is a derivative of Unix, with is a multiuser, networked environment operating system. Linux is essentially Unix on a PC. Linux users are restricted from accessing certain files or programs unless they are authorized to do so. In contrast, Windows was originally designed to be a stand alone, non-networked, personal computer. Security has always been an afterthought.

When a virus infects Windows, it infects the entire machine, and has access to any file or executable program. In contrast, if a virus can actually get through the various Linux security layers, the virus cannot infect the entire machine. That is, the virus is limited a specific user level. Unless a user is stupid enough to browse the web from the root account, an infected machine can be easily cleaned by deleting a user account that is infected.

I personally like the openSuSE distribution. Ubuntu make a good distribution as well. Heck, any Linux distribution offers greater security than Windows.

[OneTop]

Great post.

I install only Linux on my personal PC's and my kids use Mac's (it's the trendy thing to do .. according to them?) and no worries.

[TFlint]

Not to mention Mac.

[Amock]

I use Ubuntu. Windows is like a house with many doors/windows throught which nasty things cometh knocking. Linux is also like a house EXCEPT it has NO doors/windows so nothing can come throught. Very secure and based on Unix. Nothing better and nothing is as stable.

[OdysseusNemesis]

Use Linux and support the 'open-source' communities.

Personally, I would like to see these cyber terrorists hanged. The time they spend writing these worms could be invested in developing software for a good course, instead, they choose to destroy $billions worth of asset every year, which is more that the cost to the US of 9/11 terrorism.

Beside, I don't see what they gain from it except self-aggra­ndizement. Mind you, it is rumored that some of them could be working for the anti-virus software producing companies.

[shishkabob]

They gain control of computers. Controlled computers can be 1) rented out to spammers, 2) searched for passwords and account numbers (e.g. using keystroke loggers), or 3) used to attack other computers. There is plenty to be gained, the computer attackers are professionals. The age of the anarchist hacker are largely behind us.

[OdysseusNemesis]

I am sorry, there is nothing professional about computer attackers. In 24 hours, one could even teach one's grandma to write virus and spread it. These people are all scums. Why don't they jump over a bridge if they don't have better things to do.

Keylogger software is not as easy as it sounds, and very few of these scums would be that sophisticated to know where to even start writing one. The large majority of these scums are the equivalent of street pick-pockets – pure nuisance.