Fake Microsoft security alert includes Trojan patch
The e-mail identifies itself as 'Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-039'
IDG News Service - A new wave of spam that disguises itself as a Microsoft Corp. security bulletin contains a link to malicious software that gives attackers complete access to the infected machine, security researchers are reporting.
The e-mail, which began circulating late Tuesday, identifies itself as Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-039, and offers a link to what it claims is a patch against the Sober Zafi and Mytob worms.
In fact, there is no such thing as Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-039, and real Microsoft security bulletins offer links to a Microsoft download site, rather than to the patches themselves, said Mikko Hypponen, director of antivirus research at F-Secure Corp.
The phony patch is a variant of the SDBot Trojan software, which is at present not detected by antivirus software products, according to a report from security research firm WebSense Inc.
The risk of someone downloading this Trojan appears to be very low right now, because the server hosting the Trojan downloads no longer appears to be active, Hypponen said. That server, which appeared to be hosted by ThePlanet.com Internet Services Inc., apparently has exceeded its allowed bandwidth, he said.
"I think this particular case is not going to be a problem anymore, but nevertheless I think it was a fairly interesting case," Hypponen said. "I wouldn't be surprised to see more of this happening."
The Swen e-mail worm, which began circulating in 2003, used a similar technique, he said.



- Excel 2010 Cheat Sheet
- Register for this Computerworld Insider Cheat Sheet and gain access to hundreds of premium content articles, guides, product reviews and more.
- Overcome Top 7 Admin Challenges of Active Directory
- As Active Directory's role in the enterprise has drastically increased, so has the need to secure the data. Gain insight on creating repeatable,...
- Insiders Can Ruin Your Company. Take Action.
- Did you know that 80 percent of threats to an organization come from the inside? The threat from insiders is often overlooked in...
- Top Solutions and Tools to Prevent Devastating Malware
- Custom malware frequently goes undetected. According to Forrester Research, the best way to reduce risk of breach is to deploy file integrity monitoring...
- X-Ray of the PCI Process-4 Proactive Steps
- This white paper from Forrester Research Inc., helps break PCI into understandable components. Security and risk professionals will gain knowledge and insight into...
- Identity Governance: The Business Imperatives
- This white paper describes the business challenges and opportunities that are driving interest in Identity Governance while discussing considerations your organization should make... All Security White Papers
- Live Webcast
Playing Defense: Staying on Top of Your Disaster Recovery Game - When it comes to disaster recovery, rapidly growing data volumes, distributed computing models, and new technologies all combine to present an ever-changing playing...
- Introduction to VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5
- Traditional disaster recovery solutions are often too expensive, complex and unreliable to meet business requirements. As a result, IT departments are hesitant to...
- The Top Ten Secrets to Avoiding SAN Performance Problems
- Maintaining peak performance while simultaneously addressing the root cause of SAN errors is challenging. Learn the most common SAN problems and explore new...
- Deduplication Without Compromise
- Go inside Quantum's scalable, high-performance, multi-protocol new DXi deduplication appliances, designed to make backup much more effective. Discover how the new future-proof DXi6700...
- Director of Disk Products Discusses DXi6700
- Discover how the new DXi 6700 series of deduplication appliances provide investment protection and a future-proof feature set, all while delivering fast, scalable,...
- Playing Defense: Staying on Top of Your Disaster Recovery Game
- When it comes to disaster recovery, rapidly growing data volumes, distributed computing models, and new technologies all combine to present an ever-changing playing... All Security Webcasts