03 Jan 2006
Screenshots: Sites harbor Windows Trojan

This could get ugly fast: note that M$ isn't even releasing a patch until next Tuesday, and when it does it will only cover XP. If you're still using Windows 98 or ME (and I know some readers of this blog are, because I see their signatures in my log files) I would strongly suggest upgrading now. Otherwise, you will not be protected, and your machine will be hijacked for some nefarious purpose - wouldn't you love to wake up to a visit from your local constabulary wondering why your machine has been emailing Russian kiddie porn to Saudi Arabia? And just wait until you have to explain to everyone in your address book why their machines have been attacked by a virus sent from yours. Or why they got the Russian kiddie porn from your address...

Firefox, Thunderbird, etc., won't save you on this one - this is a deep flaw in Windows itself. It must be fixed at the OS level - there's some stopgap measures you can take mentioned in the article below (and I've already taken them on my sole remaining Windows box), but essentially, until M$ releases it's proven patch, it's truly 'caveat surfer' out there.

Simply by visiting these sites using a vulnerable Windows PC could cause an infection, Websense says.

(link) [CNET News.com]

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