New Windows virus hits computers

Sober

[ukgimp]

[news.bbc.co.uk...]

Anti-virus firms are warning about a Windows worm called Sober that is starting to spread widely online

[ogletree]

Well at least you have to open this one. I set up a new laptop last night plugged it into the dsl line and within a minute it had a virus.

[rise2it]

Thank goodness. It had been damn near 10 days since I'd had to worry about a virus.

[rise2it]

All kidding aside....Ogletree, what virus did you pick up THAT FAST?

[ukgimp]

One of those weird situations where you need two PC's one old one to download the patch and the other one you hope to "protect"

[ogletree]

I think it was one of those blaster ones. You put an unprotected computer on the internet and you get that one. Nasty little virus. It shuts down your computer every few minutes. Stick a firewall on it and that stops the shutting down sometimes.

[mipapage]

Yeah,

we got that one (blaster, I believe) on a new machine. Get this (not so funny at the time):

That virus, I'd read, supposedly (in addition to shutting the machine down) caused windows update to show 'no updates', so that you couldn't download the WinPatch that plugged the virus 'hole'. So, I plug the computer in and immediately have to disinfect, fine.

Off to windows update and... 'no updates!'. Surely the virus is back, or still there or whatever.

Nope!
After an hour or two, I realized that the clock on the new computer was showing a date and time so old that it causes windows update to show no updates.

Arrrgg.

[Yidaki]

>New Windows virus

Know where the name windows virus comes from?

Um, you always have the choice - the left or the right window - to throw your pc out ... hehehe >:)

[DrDoc]

You'd think that it would be a Friday virus? ;)

[killroy]

Ogletree, you can change the settings in services.msc for the RPD system from "reboot on error" to "restart service on error" this will stopthe count down adn reboot behaviour for good, virus or no virus. Then oyu yahave eat least enough time to download patches and scanner updates.

Strange, it's been years since I picked up a virus. Online 24/7, no firewall. some of the other comps on the network occassionally get one. I have a nightly scan that never picks anything up (except my old .zip virus collections).

I don't know, but it seems like setting the scanner and windows up to automatically update at regular intervals does the trick.... and since my scanner picks nothign up, in theory I don't really need it.

So why doesn't everybody set win up to auto update? I mean, nowadays, viruses are simpoly symptoms of windows bugs.

SN

[ogletree]

I was just setting up a new computer and just stuck a network cord in it to download the updates. After it shut down I turned it off and hooked my little firewall to it and never had another problem. I have only had this happen on laptops connected directly to the Internet. First time it was a brand new MSN account I used when my dad was in the hospital.

[Chalupee]

Yidaki

ThAtS the best windows joke Ive heard in a while...
thanks.. Ive been really bummed the last couple of weeks.

Cheers
Chalupee

[twoline]

Seems like this has been around since the 24th.

[securityresponse.symantec.com...]

[spikohedgefox122]

I'm always getting those Hantaner.worm viruses..and the Backdoor things. Blah

[edited by: lawman at 8:20 am (utc) on Nov. 14, 2003]
[edit reason] spelling [/edit]