WP: Danger of Image-Borne (computer) Viruses Looms

[DeepModem Mom]

Danger of Image-Borne Viruses Looms

By Brian Krebs
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Thursday, September 23, 2004; 2:36 PM


Hackers are close to finding a way to spread harmful computer viruses just by getting people to open an e-mail message or visiting an infected Web site, computer security experts warned yesterday.

The hacking community, they said, is developing tools to exploit a new security flaw in computers running Microsoft's Windows XP and Server 2003 operating systems. Those tools could be used to power the worm, which could allow attackers to take control of people's computers. Microsoft identified the flaw last week and offered a free software patch to fix it.

The problem resides in computer code that Microsoft applications use to display JPEG digital image files, an image format found on millions of Web sites. Security experts say hackers could use the flaw to embed viruses into digital photos capable of infecting vulnerable PCs as soon as the user visits a malicious Web site or opens a specially-crafted e-mail.

The development marks a key shift in the way that the online security community encourages less technologically savvy computer users to stay safe on the Internet....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45126-2004Sep23.html

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Yet another reason to use Foxfire

or stick with Windows 98 a while longer....

[MadHound]

2. Yet another reason to use a Mac

MS has so many holes, it might as well be a sieve.

[Atman]

3. There was a wire-service story about this yesterday

Don't have a copy of it, I read it in the Hartford Courant. The Tech Reporter described the new problems with WXP, and offered a list of solutions...#1 on his list was to simply ditch Windows and move to OSX, which is virtually invulnerable to such attacks. NO, Win users, NOT just because so few people use it (bullshit), as he pointed out. It is secure BY DESIGN, something Microsoft seems incapable of doing for its customers.

Probably by design, too.

[boredofeducation]

4. If MAC OS X is so secure why is their security updates every other week?

If MAC OS X is so secure why is their security updates every other week? Because I have a fleet of Macintosh computers and we have to update them at least every other week for security updates.

I do like MAC OS X but I don't like is Apple's cheap hardware. I have had 50 machines out of 200 that needed motherboard replacements. Most of them are iBooks, but one was acctually an xServe server, which to me is scary in itself. Also their service is very poor becuase it can take upto two months for a particular piece of hardware to be repaired due to lack of parts or the service tech is just too busy.

[Terran]

5. Macs aren't secure

The assholes who write viruses just don't bother to write them for Macs very often because there are so few of them around, it's not worth their time to infect so few machines. The existence of security updates for Macs is evidence of this.

The simple answer right now, for PC users, is to just stop using Internet Explorer and switch to FireFox.

[shanti]

6. oh, you mean

like the giant black and white avatar of *ush when you open DU?

[DeepModem Mom]

7. That scary image did cross my mind when I spotted this story!

n/t