Getting your computer infected with a worm can be very risky, but there are ways to protect yourself. There are a few things you should know about computer worms, and the best way to protect yourself from them is to use antivirus software. These types of programs will not only help protect you from worms, but they will also keep you safe from other types of computer viruses.
NotPetya
During the summer of 2017, a computer worm known as NotPetya was spotted in Ukraine. It spread across Europe and Asia, destroying businesses and crippling government systems. In February 2018, several governments attributed the attack to Russia. However, Russia denies any involvement.
NotPetya worm spreads through Windows networks, using several mechanisms to infect machines. It is capable of compromising 5000 machines in ten minutes. This is a significant increase in the efficiency of the worm. That suggests that the authors of the malware had considerable resources to develop it quickly.
The NotPetya ransomware encrypts all of the files on a victim’s hard drive. It asks for payment in the form of bitcoin. This makes it nearly impossible to recover the files. It also damages files, destroying data on the infected machines’ filesystems.
NotPetya was designed to infect computer systems via a popular Ukrainian accounting program. It used a known SMB (Server Message Block) protocol vulnerability to spread. It then encrypted the Master File Table, preventing users from knowing where the files are on their computers.
NotPetya’s payload targeted businesses that pay taxes to the Ukrainian government. It also targeted banks, energy companies, and the Ukrainian government itself.
NotPetya was used to take over the computer systems of companies across the United States and Europe. It shut down several companies in Ukraine, including the Danish shipping conglomerate Maersk. It also disrupted the email systems of Mondelez, a multinational food company.
NotPetya also used the EternalBlue vulnerability, which was also used by the WannaCry attack. In March 2017, Microsoft issued a patch for the vulnerability.
NotPetya’s authors are still at large, however. There is no clear indication that they are planning to revert to the ransomware tactics they used in their original attack.
Flame virus
Designed to collect information from infected PCs, the Flame virus is one of the largest pieces of malware on the planet. It was designed to map Iran’s computer networks, gather information on key officials, and provide intelligence to an ongoing cyber campaign against the Iranian nuclear program.
It’s not just the size of the Flame virus that’s impressive. It’s also the sophistication of its internal workings. The virus uses specific software vulnerabilities, such as a rogue certificate for Microsoft’s Terminal Server, to launch its spying operation.
While it’s been around for several years, Flame has only been detected in the wild once. In January 2014, the Kaspersky Security Network discovered Flame malware on a wide array of systems, from Windows 7 to Mac. A senior researcher at Kaspersky, Marc Schouwenberg, said that the malware likely originated from a state-sponsored research project.
Flame is a multi-module malware program written in the programming language LUA, which is a cross-platform scripting language. This program uses several zero-day exploits to wreak havoc on the target machine.
The Flame virus is capable of many other things, including intercepting keyboard inputs, recording audio from a microphone, and scanning network traffic. It also uses Bluetooth devices to collect information about nearby Bluetooth devices.
The Flame virus is not the first backdoor Trojan on the scene. The Duqu backdoor is an earlier contender, but it was a low-profile operation and didn’t have the sophistication of the Flame virus.
Flame’s capabilities are so impressive that it has been deployed by unknown perpetrators in Iran and other parts of the Middle East. The malware also has the capability to turn an infected machine into a beacon, capturing information about nearby Bluetooth devices and sending it to a command and control server.
Duqu
Apparently, the best way to stop a computer worm is to make sure it has nothing to do with your network, and the best way to do this is by installing a good antivirus software. The good news is, there are plenty of antivirus solutions on the market, thankfully. The bad news is, there are still plenty of malware-infected machines out there, and the best way to counter them is to keep your PCs updated. Luckily, most modern operating systems come with the latest patches. You can also take advantage of a free malware removal tool.
A cursory look at the log files of infected systems will reveal a handful of curious entries. One notable exception is a company that is unnamed. The company was attacked twice in the span of mid-April, but the malware was not contained within the walls of its facilities. The company opted to remain anonymous in order to avoid the wrath of the hacker community. The malware was eventually contained, but it took the company’s good name and some pretty hard earned cash. The malware was eventually patched and the company is now back on its feet. The security company claims that it took approximately one month to contain the malware, which is a long time in the malware business.
It is not a stretch to surmise that the authors of the aforementioned study have been scouring the interwebs for proof that they are not the only ones stumbling upon the bug. While the aforementioned study does not name names, its findings have landed it in the cynics club.
Morris worm
Designed as a demonstration of a programming flaw, Morris’ worm was a wakeup call for the Internet community. During its short lifespan, it infected tens of thousands of computers and brought attention to the dangers of interconnected systems.
It didn’t just slow down computers, though. Morris’ worm was able to exploit a backdoor in UNIX sendmail, allowing it to propagate throughout networks. This led to the first felony conviction in the United States under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
While the Morris worm isn’t the biggest threat of all time, it left a lasting impression on the world of cyber security. It was also the first computer worm to garner mainstream media attention. It is estimated that the worm infected ten percent of the computers on the internet at that time.
In the years since, the number of security flaws on the internet has grown. These flaws are caused by the growing number of devices that are connected to the internet. These devices include laptops, smartphones, and Internet of Things devices.
The Morris worm was one of the first major cyberattacks to affect the internet. It was also one of the first to bring widespread attention to the dangers of the Internet.
The Morris worm spread more quickly than Morris expected. It infected 6000 major UNIX computers within 24 hours. The worm itself contained 900 passwords, which it used to brute force passwords for account holders. The worm also had the ability to use the names of account holders to brute force passwords.
While the Morris worm wasn’t able to destroy computers, it did cause a lot of damage to the networks it infected. Some machines were infected several times. The worm took up free space on the hard disk and made computers slower.
ILOVEYOU
ILOVEYOU is a computer worm that exploded onto the world’s internet on May 4, 2000. The virus infected tens of millions of PCs around the world, causing damage estimated at $5 to $10 billion.
ILOVEYOU was developed by a young Filipino programmer named Onel de Guzman. Although de Guzman was never arrested or charged, he was put on a list of suspected ILOVEYOU authors.
The worm quickly spread to all of the email addresses in a user’s address book. It overwrote data files and deleted photographs and audio files. It also sent copies of itself to other recipients in the user’s contact list. It was able to infect computers because it hid itself as an ordinary text file.
The worm was able to spread by email, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), and as an attachment to an email message. It also infected web pages and media files, such as JPEG images and music in MP3 format.
When a user opened the attached document, the worm executed. It was a VBScript program, a light version of Microsoft’s Visual Basic Script. VBScript is a scripting language built on the idea of macros.
Unlike many viruses, ILOVEYOU was not able to scrape passwords from user accounts. Instead, it downloaded an executable file, which then overwrote important files on the user’s hard drive. It subsequently disabled user accounts and accounts connected to IRC and Microsoft Outlook.
By May 4, 2000, there were at least 2.5 million infected computers, according to reports. The virus was detected by the FBI. In addition to the 2.5 million infected computers, the virus infected tens of millions more computers around the world. Those affected by the virus included large corporations and government agencies.
