Virus Alert!

New NIMDA Worm strikes hard

So-called concept virus in the wild and threatening worldwide havoc. If you’re on IE 5.0 or 5.1, you might want to upgrade

Tuesday 18^th of September saw the NIMDA Worm begin a spread that rivals Melissa and just about every other virus that’s hit the Web in the last couple of years – and this one punches with both fists.

First, you can get it from a Web page if you’re using an older browser that hasn’t been patched, and, second, it can be sent to you in an email, just like Melissa.

Browser

NIMDA exploits a security vulnerability in older versions of Microsoft’s Web browser that haven’t had update patches applied. It resides in a small tag of JavaScript code that the worm can append to .html, .htm and .ASP files it finds on an infected IIS Web server – so far, it doesn’t seem to be able to work its nefarious tricks on a UNIX or APACHE server.

In email form, be very wary of attached 80k files called README.EXE – indeed, you should always be wary of opening any attachment from anyone at all unless you’re specifically expecting them – even more so if you know the person sending the email. It’s likely that you’d be in their Outlook and other address books – which is exactly where nasty pieces of code like NIMDA look for their propagation addresses.

The precise workings of the NIMDA worm can be found here – we’d suggest you read it thoroughly and take whatever precautions necessary to avoid infection – and certainly consider upgrading if you’re still using IE5.0 or 5.1, perhaps by installing AOL 6.0

Download Nimda finder and eradicator (executable code - download, then run)

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David Dorn