Guest guest Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Holy Moly---sounds bad...better erase those password files ****************************** The CBS program, "60 Minutes", is reporting tonight that there may be aserious threat from a computer worm called, " Conficker", that might take effecton April 1 (but it's not a joke). To see the CBS report, go to: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4901282n To read a transcript, see below.The Conficker Worm: What Happens Next?60 Minutes: Computer Worm Could Receive New Instructions On April 1March 29, 2009The Internet Is Infected(CBS) The Internet is infected. Malicious computer hackers have been creatingmore and more weapons that they plant on the Internet. They call their weaponsviruses and worms - they're creepy, crawly toxic software that contaminate ourcomputers without our ever knowing it. You can be infected by simply visitingyour favorite Web site, or just by leaving your computer on, overnight whileyou're asleep.And the problem is growing, exponentially. Last year the number of infectionstripled. And an entire industry of computer security professionals is in a raceto keep the hackers from their goal, which is usually to steal your money.One of the most dangerous threats ever, a computer worm known as "Conficker," isspreading through the Internet right now. By some estimates, 10 millioncomputers have been infected worldwide.At Symantec, the company that makes Norton anti-virus software, engineers havebeen tracking Conficker since last November as it worms its way across the globe."This map is showing a visual representation of where all of the knowninfections of Conficker are across the world," explained Steve Trilling, aSymantec vice president who says the worm is now living on millions ofcomputers, mainly in corporations.So far, the bad guys who created it haven't triggered Conficker. It's justsitting out there like a sleeper cell."Imagine a network of spies that has infiltrated a country. And every day, allof the spies are calling in for their instructions on what to do next," Trillingexplained.Asked what the worm is being asked to do, Trilling told Stahl, "That's theinteresting thing. The only thing the worm is being asked to do is to ask forfurther instructions."For several months, Trilling says the worm has just been sitting there, awaitinginstructions.It's that ominous, because once the hackers issue instructions, Conficker couldturn menacing in an instant.With one click, the worm's creator can instruct it to suck sensitive data, likebank passwords and account numbers, out of millions of computers, or launch amassive spam attack to clog up the works.The newest targets of worms are social networking sites. Trilling demonstratedto Stahl how it might work.Looking at a real Facebook page, Trilling explained, "We added your friend andcolleague Morley Safer, you can see down there on the left."He says a worm can crack into a Facebook account, like Morley's, and send amessage to anyone on his friends list.It's a message a friend or colleague, like Stahl, would be sure to open since itcomes from a trusted friend. Stahl took the bait and clicked on what looked likeMorley's video link."Something looks a little off," Trilling remarked. "You're already infected."As Trilling demonstrated on a second screen, the hacker "owned" Stahl's onlinemovements. "From here on out, everything you do, gonna show up on the hacker'smachine," he explained.So when Stahl typed her username and password into a bank Web site, it appearedinstantaneously on the hacker’s screen, along with her bank account details."Every single keystroke you hit, in fact, if you make a mistake and hit abackspace, that shows up in the window," Trilling explained.The hacker then followed her around, as she browsed the Internet from CBS Newsto Amazon.com."So, if I buy something, they’re gonna have my credit card," Stahl remarked."Everything you type in, your address, your credit card, it’s all gonna show upin that window," Trilling warned.The Internet has become a minefield. Hackers have hidden their malicioussoftware known as "malware" on some of the most trusted Web sites, like eBay,the Miami Dolphins football team, even my.barackobama.com.Trilling says too few people have top-notch, up-to-date security software.[To see the rest of this transcript, go to: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/27/60minutes/main4897053.shtml ]_____________ps-news mailing listps-newshttps://lists.langara.bc.ca/mailman/listinfo/ps-news Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Thanks for the heads up Bea. G20. President away, and then internet disabled because of virus? Just thinking aloud here. At 01:12 PM 30/03/2009, you wrote: Holy Moly---sounds bad...better erase those password files ****************************** The CBS program, " 60 Minutes " , is reporting tonight that there may be a serious threat from a computer worm called, " Conficker " , that might take effect on April 1 (but it's not a joke). To see the CBS report, go to: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4901282n To read a transcript, see below. The Conficker Worm: What Happens Next? 60 Minutes: Computer Worm Could Receive New Instructions On April 1 March 29, 2009 The Internet Is Infected (CBS) The Internet is infected. Malicious computer hackers have been creating more and more weapons that they plant on the Internet. They call their weapons viruses and worms - they're creepy, crawly toxic software that contaminate our computers without our ever knowing it. You can be infected by simply visiting your favorite Web site, or just by leaving your computer on, overnight while you're asleep. And the problem is growing, exponentially. Last year the number of infections tripled. And an entire industry of computer security professionals is in a race to keep the hackers from their goal, which is usually to steal your money. One of the most dangerous threats ever, a computer worm known as " Conficker, " is spreading through the Internet right now. By some estimates, 10 million computers have been infected worldwide. At Symantec, the company that makes Norton anti-virus software, engineers have been tracking Conficker since last November as it worms its way across the globe. " This map is showing a visual representation of where all of the known infections of Conficker are across the world, " explained Steve Trilling, a Symantec vice president who says the worm is now living on millions of computers, mainly in corporations. So far, the bad guys who created it haven't triggered Conficker. It's just sitting out there like a sleeper cell. " Imagine a network of spies that has infiltrated a country. And every day, all of the spies are calling in for their instructions on what to do next, " Trilling explained. Asked what the worm is being asked to do, Trilling told Stahl, " That's the interesting thing. The only thing the worm is being asked to do is to ask for further instructions. " For several months, Trilling says the worm has just been sitting there, awaiting instructions. It's that ominous, because once the hackers issue instructions, Conficker could turn menacing in an instant. With one click, the worm's creator can instruct it to suck sensitive data, like bank passwords and account numbers, out of millions of computers, or launch a massive spam attack to clog up the works. The newest targets of worms are social networking sites. Trilling demonstrated to Stahl how it might work. Looking at a real Facebook page, Trilling explained, " We added your friend and colleague Morley Safer, you can see down there on the left. " He says a worm can crack into a Facebook account, like Morley's, and send a message to anyone on his friends list. It's a message a friend or colleague, like Stahl, would be sure to open since it comes from a trusted friend. Stahl took the bait and clicked on what looked like Morley's video link. " Something looks a little off, " Trilling remarked. " You're already infected. " As Trilling demonstrated on a second screen, the hacker " owned " Stahl's online movements. " From here on out, everything you do, gonna show up on the hacker's machine, " he explained. So when Stahl typed her username and password into a bank Web site, it appeared instantaneously on the hacker’s screen, along with her bank account details. " Every single keystroke you hit, in fact, if you make a mistake and hit a backspace, that shows up in the window, " Trilling explained. The hacker then followed her around, as she browsed the Internet from CBS News to Amazon.com .. " So, if I buy something, they’re gonna have my credit card, " Stahl remarked. " Everything you type in, your address, your credit card, it’s all gonna show up in that window, " Trilling warned. The Internet has become a minefield. Hackers have hidden their malicious software known as " malware " on some of the most trusted Web sites, like eBay, the Miami Dolphins football team, even my.barackobama.com. Trilling says too few people have top-notch, up-to-date security software. [To see the rest of this transcript, go to: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/27/60minutes/main4897053.shtml ] _____________ ps-news mailing list ps-news https://lists.langara.bc.ca/mailman/listinfo/ps-news avast! Antivirus: Inbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 090329-0, 29/03/2009 Tested on: 30/03/2009 1:16:34 PM avast! - copyright © 1988-2009 ALWIL Software. avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 090329-0, 29/03/2009Tested on: 30/03/2009 1:49:03 PMavast! - copyright © 1988-2009 ALWIL Software. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 haha-----you're worse than I am....--- On Sun, 3/29/09, Hanneke <blosshan wrote: Hanneke <blosshanRe: HEADS UP--CBS says Internet worm may strike Wednesday! Date: Sunday, March 29, 2009, 8:19 PM Thanks for the heads up Bea. G20. President away, and then internet disabled because of virus? Just thinking aloud here.At 01:12 PM 30/03/2009, you wrote: Holy Moly---sounds bad...better erase those password files ************ ********* ********* The CBS program, "60 Minutes", is reporting tonight that there may be aserious threat from a computer worm called, " Conficker", that might take effecton April 1 (but it's not a joke). To see the CBS report, go to: http://www.cbsnews. com/video/ watch/?id= 4901282n To read a transcript, see below.The Conficker Worm: What Happens Next?60 Minutes: Computer Worm Could Receive New Instructions On April 1March 29, 2009The Internet Is Infected(CBS) The Internet is infected. Malicious computer hackers have been creatingmore and more weapons that they plant on the Internet. They call their weaponsviruses and worms - they're creepy, crawly toxic software that contaminate ourcomputers without our ever knowing it. You can be infected by simply visitingyour favorite Web site, or just by leaving your computer on, overnight whileyou're asleep.And the problem is growing, exponentially. Last year the number of infectionstripled. And an entire industry of computer security professionals is in a raceto keep the hackers from their goal, which is usually to steal your money.One of the most dangerous threats ever, a computer worm known as "Conficker," isspreading through the Internet right now. By some estimates, 10 millioncomputers have been infected worldwide.At Symantec, the company that makes Norton anti-virus software, engineers havebeen tracking Conficker since last November as it worms its way across the globe."This map is showing a visual representation of where all of the knowninfections of Conficker are across the world," explained Steve Trilling, aSymantec vice president who says the worm is now living on millions ofcomputers, mainly in corporations.So far, the bad guys who created it haven't triggered Conficker. It's justsitting out there like a sleeper cell."Imagine a network of spies that has infiltrated a country. And every day, allof the spies are calling in for their instructions on what to do next," Trillingexplained.Asked what the worm is being asked to do, Trilling told Stahl, "That's theinteresting thing. The only thing the worm is being asked to do is to ask forfurther instructions."For several months, Trilling says the worm has just been sitting there, awaitinginstructions.It's that ominous, because once the hackers issue instructions, Conficker couldturn menacing in an instant.With one click, the worm's creator can instruct it to suck sensitive data, likebank passwords and account numbers, out of millions of computers, or launch amassive spam attack to clog up the works.The newest targets of worms are social networking sites. Trilling demonstratedto Stahl how it might work.Looking at a real Facebook page, Trilling explained, "We added your friend andcolleague Morley Safer, you can see down there on the left."He says a worm can crack into a Facebook account, like Morley's, and send amessage to anyone on his friends list.It's a message a friend or colleague, like Stahl, would be sure to open since itcomes from a trusted friend. Stahl took the bait and clicked on what looked likeMorley's video link."Something looks a little off," Trilling remarked. "You're already infected."As Trilling demonstrated on a second screen, the hacker "owned" Stahl's onlinemovements. "From here on out, everything you do, gonna show up on the hacker'smachine," he explained.So when Stahl typed her username and password into a bank Web site, it appearedinstantaneously on the hacker’s screen, along with her bank account details."Every single keystroke you hit, in fact, if you make a mistake and hit abackspace, that shows up in the window," Trilling explained.The hacker then followed her around, as she browsed the Internet from CBS Newsto Amazon.com ."So, if I buy something, they’re gonna have my credit card," Stahl remarked."Everything you type in, your address, your credit card, it’s all gonna show upin that window," Trilling warned.The Internet has become a minefield. Hackers have hidden their malicioussoftware known as "malware" on some of the most trusted Web sites, like eBay,the Miami Dolphins football team, even my.barackobama. com.Trilling says too few people have top-notch, up-to-date security software.[To see the rest of this transcript, go to: http://www.cbsnews. com/stories/ 2009/03/27/ 60minutes/ main4897053. shtml ]____________ _________ _________ _________ ________ps-news mailing listps-news (AT) lists (DOT) langara.bc. cahttps://lists. langara.bc. ca/mailman/ listinfo/ ps-news avast! Antivirus: Inbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 090329-0, 29/03/2009Tested on: 30/03/2009 1:16:34 PMavast! - copyright © 1988-2009 ALWIL Software. avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 090329-0, 29/03/2009Tested on: 30/03/2009 1:49:03 PMavast! - copyright © 1988-2009 ALWIL Software. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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