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Computer viruses morphing, with no end in sight
Use protection. Please.
It's a message people like Ryan Kokai try to knock into the heads of family, buddies and co-workers time and time again.
And he's not talking about sex. In his role as tech wizard, the 25-year-old is frequently called away from his desk to clean up co-workers' computers which have been infected with viruses or other troublesome computer ailments. He makes housecalls in the evenings and on weekends for his friends -- and sometimes friends of friends.
"Pretty much everyone I know comes to me,'' says the personable Kokai, of Burlington, Ont., who works for an online DVD retailer when he's not cleaning up computer messes. "Sometimes it gets to be a little much.''
Most of us probably know someone like Kokai who helps us sort through the ever-growing list of computer mischief-makers like spyware, keystroke logging programs and Trojan horses -- programs disguised as games or e-mail attachments that cause trouble by stealing bank and e-mail passwords.
"It's really impressive how many viruses are actually out there and how easy it is to get viruses onto computers that aren't protected already,'' he said.
Over the past year, industry watchers have noticed an increase in the merging of viruses with other computer agitators. The new relationships increase the speed and breadth by which attackers wreak havoc. And it's only getting worse.
"It's almost a hybrid attack nowadays,'' said Gus Hursfai, president of Ceryx Inc., a Toronto-based e-mail solutions and security company.
"The viruses are actually spawning spam. The spam distributes viruses. They really help each other distribute themselves.''
Sophos, a global anti-virus software company, estimates that 40 per cent of spam comes from PCs that have been hijacked by viruses.
The biggest propagators of the attacks are zombie or robot machines -- virus-infected machines that are taken over by spammers or hackers.
In the past, a user would have had to forward a worm-infected e-mail to someone else in order to spread the attack but it's evolved so that now, unknowingly, many of our computers are automatically spreading hazards under our noses.
The number of these remotely controlled robots rose from 2,000 a day to 30,000 a day in just the first six months of 2004, according to research by Symantec, the market leader in computer security with its popular Norton software.
These networks are then used as scanning points for computers with vulnerable spots such as software weak spots or insufficient firewalls. (Firewalls prevent unauthorized access to a computer.)
To put it into context, consider that a couple of years ago the industry had about 26 days from the time a software company like Microsoft identified a vulnerability to when hackers developed code to take advantage of the weak spot.
In 2004, Symantec put that number at 5.8 days.
"At 26 days organizations or individuals had a fighting chance to download a patch . . . 5.8 days isn't enough time to download, test and implement a patch,'' said Michael Murphy, Symantec's general manager for Canada.
He said large robot or zombie networks became available for rent in the past year meaning attacks will likely worsen in the coming months.
"Attacks today are clearly motivated by profit,'' said Murphy. "Historically they were motivated by an individual looking for bragging rights or notoriety.''
Law enforcement officials make the occasional arrest, but a significant crackdown on the practice is difficult because it crosses so many borders.
And sadly, anti-virus software isn't enough to keep the mischief-makers at bay.
More comprehensive Internet security packages which can detect non-virus threats like spyware and keystroke logging programs are becoming essential for homes and businesses. Norton and McAfee are among two of the more popular companies that sell such software.
"We've seen an evolution of the virus threats into these blended threats that have virus-like characteristics but spread like worms and exploit vulnerabilities and have those all wrapped in,'' said Murphy.
Computer viruses morphing, with no end in sight
Use protection. Please.
It's a message people like Ryan Kokai try to knock into the heads of family, buddies and co-workers time and time again.
And he's not talking about sex. In his role as tech wizard, the 25-year-old is frequently called away from his desk to clean up co-workers' computers which have been infected with viruses or other troublesome computer ailments. He makes housecalls in the evenings and on weekends for his friends -- and sometimes friends of friends.
"Pretty much everyone I know comes to me,'' says the personable Kokai, of Burlington, Ont., who works for an online DVD retailer when he's not cleaning up computer messes. "Sometimes it gets to be a little much.''
Most of us probably know someone like Kokai who helps us sort through the ever-growing list of computer mischief-makers like spyware, keystroke logging programs and Trojan horses -- programs disguised as games or e-mail attachments that cause trouble by stealing bank and e-mail passwords.
"It's really impressive how many viruses are actually out there and how easy it is to get viruses onto computers that aren't protected already,'' he said.
Over the past year, industry watchers have noticed an increase in the merging of viruses with other computer agitators. The new relationships increase the speed and breadth by which attackers wreak havoc. And it's only getting worse.
"It's almost a hybrid attack nowadays,'' said Gus Hursfai, president of Ceryx Inc., a Toronto-based e-mail solutions and security company.
"The viruses are actually spawning spam. The spam distributes viruses. They really help each other distribute themselves.''
Sophos, a global anti-virus software company, estimates that 40 per cent of spam comes from PCs that have been hijacked by viruses.
The biggest propagators of the attacks are zombie or robot machines -- virus-infected machines that are taken over by spammers or hackers.
In the past, a user would have had to forward a worm-infected e-mail to someone else in order to spread the attack but it's evolved so that now, unknowingly, many of our computers are automatically spreading hazards under our noses.
The number of these remotely controlled robots rose from 2,000 a day to 30,000 a day in just the first six months of 2004, according to research by Symantec, the market leader in computer security with its popular Norton software.
These networks are then used as scanning points for computers with vulnerable spots such as software weak spots or insufficient firewalls. (Firewalls prevent unauthorized access to a computer.)
To put it into context, consider that a couple of years ago the industry had about 26 days from the time a software company like Microsoft identified a vulnerability to when hackers developed code to take advantage of the weak spot.
In 2004, Symantec put that number at 5.8 days.
"At 26 days organizations or individuals had a fighting chance to download a patch . . . 5.8 days isn't enough time to download, test and implement a patch,'' said Michael Murphy, Symantec's general manager for Canada.
He said large robot or zombie networks became available for rent in the past year meaning attacks will likely worsen in the coming months.
"Attacks today are clearly motivated by profit,'' said Murphy. "Historically they were motivated by an individual looking for bragging rights or notoriety.''
Law enforcement officials make the occasional arrest, but a significant crackdown on the practice is difficult because it crosses so many borders.
And sadly, anti-virus software isn't enough to keep the mischief-makers at bay.
More comprehensive Internet security packages which can detect non-virus threats like spyware and keystroke logging programs are becoming essential for homes and businesses. Norton and McAfee are among two of the more popular companies that sell such software.
"We've seen an evolution of the virus threats into these blended threats that have virus-like characteristics but spread like worms and exploit vulnerabilities and have those all wrapped in,'' said Murphy.
