Ever had an urge to really get a visual on what masterfully written predatory code would look like if allowed to grow into a 3D organism? Okay, so maybe that hasn't been on the forefront of your mind recently, but there's no denying that Alex Dragulescu's Malwarez project is quite the source of eye candy. According to its maker, the aforementioned initiative is a "series of visualization of worms, viruses, trojans and spyware code," and their "frequency, density and grouping are mapped to the inputs of an algorithm that grows a virtual 3D entity." Who knew viruses could look so dreamy?

[Thanks, Danger Mouse]

Ugh, we were already sick of digital photo frames -- and now it looks those now-discontinued virus-ridden Insignia units from Best Buy and several other models produced in China were carrying a much nastier trojan that we'd originally heard. According to an analyst form Computer Associates, the trojan, called Mocmex, is able to block more than 100 types of security and anti-virus software from killing it, and bypasses the Windows firewall to download files from remote locations, spreading them randomly over your hard drive and any portable storage device you plug into your PC -- like, for example, a digital photo frame. The trojan is apparently set to only steal gaming passwords at present, but CA says it's capable of stealing nearly any information on your machine, and thinks it might be a test for a much worse virus yet to come. Infected frames have come from Sam's Club, Target and Costco, in addition to Best Buy, so we'd say to avoid picking one up until this mess gets sorted out -- or, you know, forever.

We hate to be bearers of bad news, but it looks like those of you squeaking by on a WEP-protected or unprotected wireless router have yet another reason to undertake the difficult task of selecting "WPA" on that router admin screen. A team of researchers at Indiana University have published a paper on how easily malware could spread through a densely populated area, with unprotected routers providing zero resistance, and WEP moderately more, while WPA proved generally unhackable. The spread of the malware was alarmingly similar to a biological virus, and while no such router "WiFi flu" has yet been developed by nefarious types, it's probably only a matter of time before something of its ilk takes a city by storm. In test attacks, after the initial infection phase, 10-55 percent of the routers were infected. We can do better, people. Oh, and to the guy upstairs: thanks for all the WiFi these years, those torrents will probably never be traced back to you, so don't worry.

We've already taught you to not use syringes USB flash drives that you find on the street, but we know all sorts of unwanted invaders can meander on into your hard drive when you're not looking. Enter LG's aptly-named Vaccine USB flash drive, which comes pre-loaded with anti-virus / malware protection software and provides "real-time system monitoring and hardware scans." Aside from making sure your rig doesn't catch any bugs going around, it also updates itself when plugged in to an internet-connected PC. Regrettably, we've no idea how much these things will cost (nor if Medicare will cover), but they will be offered up in sizes ranging from 512MB to 8GB.

[Via EverythingUSB, image courtesy of Pocket-Lint]

If you can keep track of the bad TV movie / high school drama that the OS X worm saga has become, hats off to you. In the latest round of confusing doublespeak from the underbelly of the security world, a few key players are (possibly) taking turns swapping identities -- and trading death threats. In the latest installment, Jon Ramsey is Infosec Sellout, David Maynor is LMH, anonymous commenters are promising to "put a bullet in your head for this!" and a spooky legion of "black hat" hackers known as the "Phrack High Council," (or PHC) are doing their best Freemasons impersonation. Now, with the Infosec site deletions, and Dave Maynor's supposed self-outing, calls being issued for the worm to be proven in the wild are increasingly mixed with the literal cries of bloody murder -- all over what can best be described as the lamest hoax for the biggest nerds in internet history. Check out the Computerworld article for some... insight?

Update: As noted by a few commenters, David Maynor is now claiming on his blog that he isn't LMH, and that the admission "from" him had been faked. Of course, in this subterfuge-filled war of words, we'll take it with a grain of salt.

[Via Slashdot]

InfoSec Sellout, the hacker(s) behind that claimed OS X worm we mentioned yesterday, has kinda-sorta disappeared from the Internets. Sellout's blog, which classified the information security industry as a bunch of "snake oil salesmen, pimps and whores," is "now dead" according to the anonymous blogger (or bloggers) who many think is hacker LMH of January's "Month of Apple Bugs." Mysteriously, the site has reemerged under a new name boasting a link to SecurityFocus where InfoSec Sellout's vulnerability claim now includes the latest version of OS X: 10.4.10. Oddly, Sellout claims that his/her site was hacked, and the new posts are fakes. Huh? Sellout claims that the reason for the shutdown was due to the loss of hacker anonymity from "cry babies" who can't handle a little honesty. Of course, none of this makes any sense. After all, there's always Google cache. Besides, if his/her (or their) claim of developing a first, massively propagating OS X worm is true, then just like DVD Jon before, Sellout's fiscal future as an industry professional would be all but guaranteed. So what are you really hiding from Sellout?

[Via Macworld]

Read -- InfoSec old site (via Google Cache)
Read -- InfoSec new site
Read -- InfoSec Sellout's identity?
Read -- SecurityFocus vulnerability description

Look, we're fine with Apple gloating about the security of OS X in their Mac vs. PC adverts. After all, we have yet to see a large-scale worm released into the Macintosh community. However, the fact that a worm hasn't been released on a Windows-esque scale likely has less to do with Apple's superior coding than the size of their market share, i.e., OS X is a smaller target. That might soon change, however. A vulnerability has reportedly been found and more importantly, exploited by an "independent researcher" known only as "InfoSec Sellout." Apparently, a previously undisclosed vulnerability in the OS X mDNSResponder (which Apple has patched before) allowed Sir Sellout to cobble together a worm dubbed "Rape.osx." InfoSec Sellout claims to have released the worm into a controlled environment thereby infecting a network of about 1,500 OS X systems by nabbing root and dumping a text file as an evidentiary foot print. However, the worm's author claims that it can be broadly weaponised with a payload of choice across both PPC and Intel-class Macs with just a bit more work. InfoSec Sellout will disclose the vulnerability to Apple only after his/her "research is complete" and after an appropriate level of compensation (er, InfoSec Ransom?) received. Dubious as that sounds, for better or worse, it's the way the game's currently played.

[Via Slashdot]

Joining the infamous Chip & PIN terminal hacks as yet another way to siphon banking details from unlucky Londoners, a group of "malware purveyors" reportedly dropped off tempting Trojan-infused USB drives in a UK parking lot in hopes that unsuspecting individuals would take the bait and subsequently hand over their banking credentials. Supposedly, Check Point regional director Nick Lowe mentioned the wile at the Infosec trade show, but couldn't elaborate due to the ongoing investigation. Another insight suggested that such chicanery was becoming "the new phishing email," but hey, where's the love for those oh-so-vulnerable ATMs? Take note, dear Brits, that the free storage you're eying on the park bench could end up costing you quite a bit in the long run.

What do tubby teens, MP3 players, and grandma's scalded taint all have in common? That's right, the absolute attention of McDonald's legal. See, McDonald's and Coca-Cola recently teamed up in Japan to give away 10,000 self-branded MP3 players pre-loaded with 10 spankin' new tunes and... some delicious malware. It seems that a "portion" of the players sport a variant of the QQPass family of trojan horses which capture passwords and other personal information when the MP3 player is plugged into the users' PC. The code then proceeds to email the details to the author. McDonald's has setup a 24 hour hotline while they are investigating the matter and will swap out all the offending players. Good times.

[Via Impress]