Archive: August 2005
Katrina Phishing Scams Begin
It was bound to happen. On a hunch that we might see phishing scams popping up that take advantage of the terrible destruction that Hurricane Katrina has wrought on the Gulf Coast, I started looking up new Web address registrations...
By Brian Krebs | August 31, 2005; 12:41 PM ET | Comments (50)
Zeroing In on Mytob-Zotob Crime Ring
Just days after announcing arrests of two men suspected of authoring and releasing the Zotob and Mytob worms, authorities in Turkey say they have identified a dozen or more other people who may be connected with the release of the...
By Brian Krebs | August 30, 2005; 4:40 PM ET | Comments (0)
Another Critical IE Flaw Found
Security researchers are pointing out a newly reported security hole in Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser that attackers could use to assume control over Windows PCs just by convincing users to visit a specially crafted Web page. Researcher Tom Ferris...
By Brian Krebs | August 30, 2005; 2:02 PM ET | Comments (12)
Hurricane Katrina Breaks Internet2 Link, But Performance Not Affected
The private, high-speed Internet2 network serving education and research institutions around the nation took a physical hit today as Hurricane Katrina began battering the Gulf Coast, but traffic speeds on the network remain largely unaffected for the time being (the...
By Brian Krebs | August 29, 2005; 2:47 PM ET | Comments (0)
Conversation With a Worm Author
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about an increasing number of hackers making money by using large groupings of hacked home computers -- or "bots" -- as massive install bases for spyware and adware, gleaning a commission for each...
By Brian Krebs | August 29, 2005; 12:20 PM ET | Comments (19)
Suspected Zotob Worm Authors Arrested
UPDATE, 4:35 p.m. ET: I've put together a larger story on this after an interesting conversation with top officials at Microsoft and the FBI. Two men were arrested Thursday on suspicion of releasing the "Zotob" and "Mytob" worms, variants of...
By Brian Krebs | August 26, 2005; 12:56 PM ET | Comments (15)
Justice Dept. Targets Porn Spammers
UPDATE -- Aug. 25: The post below incorrectly stated that among those expected to be indicted was Kirk Rogers, 42, of Manhattan Beach, Calif. Rogers was not indicted. According to an official press release issued by the Justice Department this...
By Brian Krebs | August 25, 2005; 9:18 PM ET | Comments (37)
Google Patches?
Gary Rivlin over at the New York Times has written an excellent piece today headlined, "Relax, Bill Gates: It's Google's Turn as the Villain" (registration required). Rivlin spoke to Silicon Valley investors and venture capitalists who collectively think Google is...
By Brian Krebs | August 24, 2005; 3:00 PM ET | Comments (9)
Bank Sites Still Driven by Marketers
For years, banks, e-commerce companies and other operators of Web sites that deal in personal financial information have trained customers to look for the little "padlock icon" in the corner of their Web browser window. That padlock indicates that users...
By Brian Krebs | August 23, 2005; 5:40 PM ET | Comments (4)
The Worm Business
Now that some of the dust has settled from the outbreak(s) of the Zotob worm last week, the time is right to put this latest Internet worm into perspective. First off, security blogger Dominic White has put together a chronology...
By Brian Krebs | August 22, 2005; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
Customs Crashed by Zotob
It's been all Zotob, all week. I'm thinking Zotob would make a great name for an anti-depressant. Maybe if it were a psychoactive happy drug, we'd all feel much better about the fact that this Internet worm disabled the computer...
By Brian Krebs | August 19, 2005; 1:43 PM ET | Comments (6)
Workaround for Unpatched IE Flaw
A few news outlets have called attention to an unpatched, critical flaw tied to Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser that could let bad guys take over vulnerable Windows machines if they browse a site controlled by potential attackers. The stories...
By Brian Krebs | August 18, 2005; 12:48 PM ET | Comments (4)
SoBig.F's Second Anniversary
Two years ago today, Internet users felt the brunt of a leap forward in virus-spreading technology as e-mail inboxes around the world were flooded with copies of "Sobig.F." At the time it was the single fastest-spreading virus ever -- Sobig.F...
By Brian Krebs | August 18, 2005; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Latest Worms Duke It Out
It appears that the numerous variants of the Zotob worm that have emerged over the past couple of days may have been salvos in a new worm war between rival online crime groups, according to analysis by Finnish antivirus company...
By Brian Krebs | August 17, 2005; 5:55 PM ET | Comments (5)
As the Worm Turns
Since Sunday, when Security Fix first warned readers about the emergence of the Zotob worm, nearly a dozen variants have emerged, each slightly more dangerous or sneaky than the one before. Yesterday, it came to light that many companies, including...
By Brian Krebs | August 17, 2005; 1:40 PM ET | Comments (47)
A Media Worm?
(Editor's note: For more information see this Post story by Brian Krebs and Mike Musgrove.) A number of media companies said today that their newsrooms were battling a new Internet worm that was taking advantage of a Windows security flaw...
By Brian Krebs | August 16, 2005; 7:02 PM ET | Comments (16)
A Media Worm?
(Editor's note: For more information see this Post story by Brian Krebs and Mike Musgrove.) A number of media companies said today that their newsrooms were battling a new Internet worm that was taking advantage of a Windows security flaw...
By Brian Krebs | August 16, 2005; 7:02 PM ET | Comments (16)
Apple Update Fixes Multiple Mac OS X Security Holes
Apple has released a really huge update that fixes more than 40 security flaws present in its Mac OS X operating system. The patch bundle mends security holes that range from mildly scary to "extremely critical" in more than a...
By Brian Krebs | August 16, 2005; 1:54 PM ET | Comments (0)
Reason #4,643 To Just Say 'No' to Spam
Everyone knows it's a pain to clean out the spam from your e-mail inbox. And Security Fix's regular readers should know by now that spam poses a more insidious risk because many messages try to trick users into clicking on...
By Brian Krebs | August 16, 2005; 1:15 PM ET | Comments (2)
A Billion-Dollar Boondoggle?
Just spent a few minutes leafing through the latest edition of Consumer Reports, which this month features advice on helping people stay safe online. The magazine references a study saying that over the past two years, at-home computer users invested...
By Brian Krebs | August 15, 2005; 6:30 PM ET | Comments (14)
Worm Exploiting Microsoft Hole
A nasty new Internet worm is taking advantage of a five-day-old flaw in most recent versions of Windows. This is the same flaw Security Fix warned readers to hurry up and patch using an update Microsoft released on Tuesday. The...
By Brian Krebs | August 14, 2005; 1:22 PM ET | Comments (19)
Patch Now or Else
If you've been putting off installing the latest bundle of patches that Microsoft issued this week, it's time to reconsider. Instructions telling would-be attackers precisely how to exploit more than half of the security holes closed by the patches were...
By Brian Krebs | August 12, 2005; 3:30 PM ET | Comments (0)
Verizon Wireless Fixes Leaky Web Site
Verizon Wireless acknowledged today that a series of computer programming flaws may have exposed personal data on millions of subscribers. Verizon initially said it had no evidence any information was actually leaked as a result of the flaw, which it...
By Brian Krebs | August 11, 2005; 4:23 PM ET | Comments (2)
The FBI on Cyber Crime
It's not every day that one gets a chance to talk with Robert Mueller, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. So when he began taking questions following a speech he made about cooperating with industry to fight crime at...
By Brian Krebs | August 10, 2005; 1:57 PM ET | Comments (5)
Spam, Spam, Hummers(?) and Spam
It's been something of a gleeful week for anti-spam activists. On Tuesday, Microsoft Corp. announced it had won a $7 million settlement from Scott Richter, once known as the "Spam King" for the millions he made by sending junk e-mail....
By Brian Krebs | August 10, 2005; 11:44 AM ET | Comments (0)
Six Security Patches for Windows
As promised, Microsoft Corp. today released a bundle of six software security updates for computers running its Windows operating systems, including three patches that earned its most severe "critical" rating. The free patches, available for download through the Microsoft Update...
By Brian Krebs | August 9, 2005; 3:11 PM ET | Comments (27)
Antivirus Software: A Tool, Not a Panacea
If you think merely using a firewall, anti-virus software and staying up to date on Microsoft Windows security patches will allow you to throw caution and common sense to the wind while surfing the 'Net, think again. The folks over...
By Brian Krebs | August 9, 2005; 11:20 AM ET | Comments (1)
Six Windows Updates on "Black Tuesday"
Microsoft said Thursday it plans to release at least six patches (or bundles of patches, more accurately) for its various Windows operating systems next week. At least one of the patches will come with a "critical" rating, meaning Microsoft considers...
By Brian Krebs | August 5, 2005; 11:20 AM ET | Comments (4)
A Bit of Free Advice
I am constantly being asked through e-mail or the odd phone call for advice on how to fix this or that problem with a reader's computer, or how to quash the latest computer virus or bug. So I am always...
By Brian Krebs | August 4, 2005; 2:19 PM ET | Comments (2)
Cisco Warns of Hacker Break-In
Cisco Systems Inc., the company that makes the Internet routers that process a majority of Web and e-mail traffic, said today that hackers had compromised an untold number of usernames and passwords need to gain access to the customer login...
By Brian Krebs | August 3, 2005; 4:50 PM ET | Comments (8)
Leaving Las Vegas: So Long DefCon and Blackhat
For better or for worse, the annual Black Hat and DefCon gatherings were largely overshadowed by the Michael Lynn/Cisco scandal. In talking with dozens of speakers and attendees about this over the past week, the overwhelming consensus was that Cisco...
By Brian Krebs | August 1, 2005; 5:30 PM ET | Comments (18)
