Winson Digital Techniques

Stuxnet is a malicious computer worm that became infamous for its use to attack Iranian nuclear facilities. That attack made global news headlines in 2010 when it was first discovered. As Malwarebytes' Senior Director of Threat Intelligence Jérôme Segura said in his article Stuxnet  new light through old windows  "Very few pieces of malware have garnered the same kind of worldwide attention as Stuxnet." While a computer worm, Stuxnet is malicious  software , it has been used to attack electro-mechanical equipment. As in the case of the major attack in Iran, attackers used Stuxnet to exploit multiple zero-day  Windows vulnerabilities, search infected PCs for a connection to the software that controlled the electro-mechanical equipment, and send instructions intended to damage the equipment. While many types of malware infect a computer through the Internet, another unique feature of the Stuxnet attack in Iran is that the malware was introduced to the PC...

The SQL slammer worm is a computer virus (technically, a computer worm) that caused a denial of service on some Internet hosts and dramatically slowed down general Internet traffic, starting at 05:30 UTC on January 25, 2003. It spread rapidly, infecting most of its 75,000 victims within 10 minutes. Although titled "SQL slammer worm", the program did not use the SQL language; it exploited two buffer overflow bugs in Microsoft's flagship SQL Server database product. Other names include W32.SQLExp.Worm, DDOS.SQLP1434.A, the Sapphire Worm, SQL_HEL, and W32/SQLSlammer. Computer Virus      The virus is a piece of program code that, like a biological virus, makes copies of itself and spreads by attaching itself to a host, often damaging the host in the process. Computer Worm   A computer worm is a self-replicating computer program, similar to a computer virus. It is self-contained and does not need to be part of another program to propagate itself. According to NSF DARPA, S...

The Anna Kournikova Virus was a worm that spread by email, disguised as an email attachment with the filed name “AnnaKournikova.jpg.VBS.” The virus was a Visual Basic script that, once opened, emailed itself to all the contacts within the user's Outlook address book. Anna Kournikova was a payload-free virus, however, and did not erase any files or send information back to the creator. A new Visual Basic script (VBS) virus that appears to have originated in Europe has made its way to the U.S. and is clogging up e-mail systems across the country Monday, according to antivirus vendors.  The virus, which spreads itself through e-mail systems using Microsoft Corp.’s Outlook in a way similar to the notorious “LoveLetter” virus apparently made its way from Europe to the U.S. overnight, according to Vincent Weafer, director of antivirus research for antivirus vendor Symantec Corp. Computer Associates International Inc. (CA) also received reports of its existence in the Asia-Pacific region,...

What is a computer worm?  Several things may come to mind when you think of the word “worm." You may think of delicious soft chewie candies that are sugary and maybe a little sour. Or you may think of the cold-blooded invertebrate animals that wiggle across the Earth’s surface. And if you’re thinking in computing terms, the malware may spring to mind.  Similar to real worms, you can say that computer worms don’t have much of a backbone because they often rely on trickery to infect their hosts. They may also seem a bit coldblooded because they can be remorselessly destructive. Let’s learn more about them. Worm definition A computer worm is a subset of the Trojan horse malware that can propagate or self-replicate from one computer to another without human activation after breaching a system. Typically, a worm spreads across a network through your Internet or LAN (Local Area Network) connection. Naturally, you must be wondering what is a trojan and how does it relate to...

What is MyDoom? While many people call it a virus, technically MyDoom is a worm , as it can operate and spread independently from the host. MyDoom (also known as Nova, W32.MyDoom@mm, Shimgapi, and Email. R) spreads through malicious email attachments. After the victim clicks on the attachment, the worm gets inside the operating system and sends emails to all the victim’s contacts. When people see a familiar name, they are more likely to open a suspicious file. At the time of discovery in 2004, you could also get MyDoom by using the file-sharing platform Kazaa, which is no longer operating.MyDoom adds infected computers to a botnet and then carries out distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. When the worm takes control over the victim’s OS, it then opens various ports and provides a backdoor to invite even more malware in. Technical details MyDoom arrives with one of the following subject lines: test, hi, hello, mail delivery system, mail transaction failed, server report, status,...

What is the ILOVEYOU virus? The ILOVEYOU virus comes in an email with "ILOVEYOU" in the subject line and contains an attachment that, when opened, results in the message being re-sent to everyone in the recipient's Microsoft Outlook address book. Perhaps more seriously, it results in the loss of every JPEG, MP3, and certain other files on all recipients' hard disks.  Since Microsoft Outlook   is widely installed as the default email management application in corporate networks worldwide, the ILOVEYOU virus can spread rapidly within a corporation. In fact, this is exactly what happened on May 4, 2000. In just about 10 days, ILOVEYOU reached an estimated 45 million users and caused about  $10 Billion   in damages. It spread so quickly that many major enterprises like the Ford Motor Company, AT&T, and Microsoft, as well as government organizations like the Pentagon, CIA, U.S. Army, and parliaments in Denmark and the U.K., had to completely shut down their email serv...

Cryptolocker Virus Definition Cryptolocker is a malware threat that gained notoriety over the last few years. It is a Trojan horse that infects your computer and then searches for files to encrypt. This includes anything on your hard drives and all connected media — for example, USB memory sticks or any shared network drives. In addition, the malware seeks out files and folders you store in the cloud. Only computers running a version of Windows are susceptible to Cryptolocker; the Trojan does not target Macs. Once your desktop or laptop is infected, files are "locked" using what's known as asymmetric encryption. This method relies on two "keys," one public and one private. Hackers encrypt your data using the public key, but it can only be decrypted using the unique private key they hold. The Cryptolocker virus will display warning screens indicating that your data will be destroyed if you do not pay a ransom to obtain the private key. Common Infection Methods an...