Standing Between You and Computer Viruses
Raleigh, NC — February 4, 2004 — At the end of January, a new virus known variously as MyDoom, Novarg, Shimg, and Mimail.R, was released into the wild; in just a few days by some estimates it had infected several million computers running the Windows operating system, a popular target for virus writers due to its abysmal security model.
hesketh.com responded to the virus infections by blocking email sent to our hosting customers that matched a set of criteria indicative of the virus. Messages rejected during the first six days of the onslaught averaged 3,625/day. This translates to 4 out of every 5 delivery attempts for that time period.
hesketh.com is also addressing other infection vector, (ex., "bounces" sent back to the forged addresses informing them of the infected email). You may have seen some copies of such bounce messages and wondered why you were receiving them. We are taking further efforts to block such mail and to keep up with the virus itself as it morphs. There are already two known and one more suspected versions of the virus, which when it has infected the host computer launches "denial of service" (DoS) attacks on certain targets, including the SCO Web site. Later versions of the virus also apparently modify files on the infected host that may prevent proper updates from being fetched from antivirus Web sites.
If you are running Windows, please acquaint yourself with the virus and be sure to run anti-virus software, and avoid executing any unknown or unexpected attachments. We also filter out all Windows executables that are sent as attachments, as a security measure, but the latest round of viruses has been using ZIP files to further get around such filters. Our measures reduce your vulnerability, but a backup anti-virus policy is still recommended.
More information:
http://us.mcafee.com/virusInfo/default.asp?id=mydoom
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/w32mydooma.html
http://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/novarg.shtml
http://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/mydoom_b.shtml
http://www.rav.ro/virus/showvirus.php?v=205
Semantec has published a removal tool, in the unlikely event that your computer is infected via our network.
About hesketh.com/inc.
Founded in 1995, hesketh.com (www.hesketh.com) is a leading user experience agency specializing in Internet-based solutions for progressive not-for-profits, higher education, and venture-backed startups. Their elite team of nationally recognized experts maximizes value through the strategic convergence of technology, creativity, and usability. hesketh.com’s professional services include user experience design, application development & integration, and ongoing support.
