Sophos virus experts provide protection against newly discovered
worm variant
Sophos virus experts have analysed and issued protection against
W32/MyDoom-B, a
new variant of the MyDoom worm.
The W32/MyDoom-B worm operates in a similar way to its
predecessor, travelling via email attachments and the KaZaA
file-sharing network. Unlike its predecessor, the worm attempts to
stop infected computers from browsing anti-virus websites.
Between 1 February and 1 March 2004, there is a 20% chance that
the worm will attempt a denial of service attack against
www.sco.com, sending numerous GET requests to the web server.
Between 13:09 UTC on 3 February and 1 March 2004 there is a 30%
chance that the worm will attempt the same denial of service attack
against www.microsoft.com.
"Currently we do not believe that this new variant poses as high
a risk as the now infamous original W32/MyDoom-A worm, but we will
continue to monitor the situation," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos. "It seems possible that this new
version of the MyDoom worm is written by the same person. If
convicted they could face severe punishment by the
authorities."
"All internet users should ensure their computers have the
latest anti-virus updates and are properly secured behind
firewalls," continued Cluley.
Read further
information about W32/MyDoom-B.
Sophos suggests computer users sign up for email notification of new virus
threats and add a live virus
information feed to their websites.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.