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Virus warning, HiPiHi may contain trojan [UPDATED]
Users of the HiPiHi virtual world are reporting that the application uninstaller for the virtual world client may be infected with a malicious trojan, identified as BackDoor.Bifrose.YM aka BDS/Bifrose.Gen. It is not presently confirmed as to whether this is a genuine threat or a false-positive, but you need to be cautious. Not all virus scanners are reporting this - which says little about whether the threat is genuine or not. Update: Wikipedia suggests that there is usually a trojan embedded in the uninstaller. [Thanks to Massively reader ZATZAi for the heads-up, and the image]
NPR on Mac hacking-- a little FUD, a little fact
NPR hits up the issue of Mac hacking (the bad malware kind, not the good kind), and suggests that Macs are supposedly becoming a bigger target for exploitative folk.While this is a topic that could easily (and does often) degenerate into complete misinformation and FUD, NPR basically acknowledges that Macs are showing up in more and more places (and that includes the iPhone, where even Apple is concerned about security), and that means that they're becoming a juicier target for malware developers. Fortunately, however, a familiar voice shows up later in the report (dig those dulcet tones!) to remind everyone that throughout five iterations of OS X, the malware problems have been hard to find. Malware developers may be trying, but it ain't working.Of course, we can't let this go without noting that this story was inspired in the first place by a PR report released by... you guessed it: an antivirus company. The people who profit off of programs that supposedly prevent malware are claiming that malware is a bigger threat than ever before? Go figure.
MMO security irresponsibly bad, experts claim
MMO players have more to fear than simply kobolds and virtual super villains. According to several security engineers interviewed by TechNewsWorld, gamers face greater risks than many of them realize, as lax security measures on the part of publishers expose players to identity theft, malware, and potential hack attacks. And as persistent online worlds continue to grow in size, they only become more lucrative targets for online ne'er-do-wells. They attribute much of the risk to the fact that so much of the actual game software lies on users' home computers, and is not adequately shielded by firewalls and other protective measures.Unfortunately, the solutions posed by the so-called experts betray an obvious lack of experience with MMOs and the people who play them. They cite enterprise networks as an example of having the kind of network security that gamers need to ensure that they're protected from intrusive attacks... So they suggest that people play games from work to alleviate the risk. While I'm enthusiastic about such a prospect personally, I highly doubt that most employers are too keen on the idea of their employees logging in while on the clock and using up company bandwidth to grind for Sporeggar rep. They also suggest purchasing expensive security products, but that's not something I'd imagine most people haven't considered and disregarded already.A more prudent suggestion, though not one explicitly cited in the article, is to instead be extremely mindful of what kind of mods you download for your favorite games, and from where you download them. If you don't give hackers an open door to your system, than there's probably not too big a cause for concern, unless you're unlucky enough to have bought pre-hacked products.
Symantec, McAfee announce new mobile security wares
As unfortunate as it is that the world needs such products, the mobile antivirus industry is actually pretty well matured at this point with offerings from big players like McAfee and Kapersky already several versions deep. Both McAfee and Symantec have chosen this week to announce their latest mobile goods; in McAfee's case, it's really just a rehashing of the company's existing VirusScan Mobile software, which is now available to purchasers of its Triple Play offer for comprehensive security from PC to phone and offers protection for Windows Mobile 5 and 6 devices. Symantec meanwhile is introducing its Norton Smartphone Security software, which it claims to be the first to offer protection for Windows Mobile and Symbian devices in a single product. Grab it now (don't want the baddies infecting your N95, do ya?) for $29.99 for a 1-year subscription.[Via Slashphone]Read - Symantec Norton Smartphone SecurityRead - McAfee VirusScan Mobile
Seagate shuts the gate
The horse has bolted. Do be a dear and go out and shut the gate. You may remember that news broke earlier this week that Maxtor/Seagate drives were coming out rigged to thieve your World of Warcraft account credentials, fresh from the factory. Seagate responded with a notice that is hard to find, unless you know exactly where to look - no mention of the debacle appears to be on their front page, news, or press-releases.
Virus on Maxtor HDDs targets MMO players
Buyer beware, Seagate had released a notice saying that a sizable number of Maxtor Basics Personal Storage 3200 harddrives manufactured since August of this year may be infected with a virus known as "Virus.Win32.AutoRun.ah." The virus is known to probe drive data looking for passwords, and sends them to a central server located somewhere in China. Evidently, the problem stemmed from a specific sub-contractor, and while the issue has already been resolved on their end, the infected harddrives are still floating around in circulation.What makes this story of particular interest to us is that the virus seems to be looking specifically for passwords for games popular with Chinese MMO players, most notably WSGame, Perfect World, and World of Warcraft. In the announcement on their website, Seagate, which owns the Maxtor brand, describes the effects of the virus as "minimal." If it was our WoW account that were hacked because of their oversight, that's hardly the word choice we'd use. If you've picked up a new harddrive from Maxtor since August, it might be worth checking your specific model number and calling customer service just to hedge your bets. Here's hoping this is only an isolated case and we don't see anything like this in the future.
Some Maxtor Personal Storage 3200s shipped with virus
How convenient -- your shiny new Maxtor Basics Personal Storage 3200 may have come preloaded with a nasty virus right out of the box. That's right folks, you may not even need to open any suspicious emails or surf over to dodgy websites, as an undisclosed amount of drives produced by a company sub-contract manufacturer located in China were reportedly sent out with the Virus.Win32.AutoRun.ah program already loaded. Apparently, the molar virus is one that get its kicks by searching for passwords to online games (World of Warcraft included) and sending them back to a "server located in China," and as if that wasn't enough, it can also disable virus detection software and delete other molar viruses without breaking a sweat. In order to determine whether your drive is one of the lucky (or unlucky) ones, feel free to phone up Seagate with the serial number in hand, and if you haven't already updated your anti-virus software, now would probably be a splendid time to do so.[Thanks, overseatrader]
Researchers using viruses to build nano-electronics
MIT researchers have begun using bio-engineered viruses to build nanomaterials with wide-ranging applications, like thin battery fibers that may one day be woven directly into clothing. The process, which is being developed by Professor Angela Belcher and her team, has gained the interest of the US military for its potential in creating new types of sensors, solar cells, and batteries, as part of future combat gear. There's still a way to go, however -- right now all the virus-built fibers really do is glow red under ultraviolet, but Belcher is confident her "directed evolution" development technique will allow her viral construction crew to build more sophisticated fibers soon. Here's hoping -- we'd kill to recharge our devices with some stylin' battery-pants.
Intel's new vPro processors toughen up your system
According to Intel, your computer-security fears will be a thing of the distant past thanks to its latest vPro technology update. Apparently, the new safe-guarding apparatus is a combination of the company's Core 2 Duo processors and the Q35 Express chipset, in addition to several "technology innovations" that the chipmaker says will fortify business-centric systems against "software-based attacks," as well as viruses and the ominously vague "other threats." New components of the technology include Intel's Trusted Execution Technology (TXT, AKA LaGrande), which isolates assigned memory and protects it from access via unauthorized software, and improved system defense filters, which can identify a larger number of threats in network traffic. "Today, the business desktop PC just got more secure," says a company spokesperson, though for our system "protection" we're sticking to NoDoz and nunchucks.
Is the background downloader a virus?
According to MVP Schwick on the EU forums, several different anti-virus scanners have started detecting the Blizzard background downloader and some patch files as malware. With as much trouble as you can get into with certain kinds of malware, this sort of alert would be bound to panic anyone. However, this one has been confirmed by Blizzard as a false alarm. For now, be sure to download the latest updates to your anti-virus scanner, and if it detects any of the following, it's likely a false positive: Trojan-PSW.Win32.WOW R/PSW.WOW.RG.3 Trojan horse PSW.Generic4.TUV However, if, after upgrading your anti-virus software, you're still getting virus messages? Report it on the tech support forums. As Blizzard EU rep Torzelyn says:Updating the Virus Scanners is removing the Trojan alert, but if your particular scanner is still flagging it as a trojan, please don't patch the game just yet. I'm sorry but I'm just wanting to be cautious. Although it appears to be a false positive, as with Kaspersky, AntiVir etc.. updating the definitions is solving the problem, I don't want to just say 'use the files' because there could still be a problem somewhere.[Via BlizzPlanet]
Danger Will Robinson!
I saw this screen shot last night on the WoW LJ community, and I have to admit, it took me by surprise. This is the first time I've ever actually seen the World of Warcraft launcher/load screen come out and point-blank warn people about the presence of Trojans on their machines. As there are a lot of variants of this particular Trojan out in the wild, that specific name doesn't surprise me.Considering the fact that two Blue accounts were recently compromised, it looks like it's a good time to once again make sure your systems are patched, your virus scanners are up to date, and that you've got some good lines of defense against these Trojans. (Personally, I'm a huge fan of FireFox and some of the browser extensions that have come out for it.) Or, as some of my friends have told me, I could just get a Mac, and not have to worry so much about these kinds of things either. I keep telling them I'll happily switch when they buy me one.
How to protect your system from keyloggers [Updated]
It's raid night. You've farmed your mats, topped off your repair fun and loaded up on pizza and cola. But for some reason you can't log on. You're sure you typed in the right password, but no go. You IM you guildie: "Are the servers down? I can't get in." His reply sends chills down your spine: "We just saw you at the bank. Why was your toon naked?"Years of hard work gone. Someone else accessed your account and stripped your main of all his gold, bank items and tradable equipment. "But I don't give my password to anyone!" you wail. You don't have to, the keylogger program knows it anyway.What's a keylogger? It's a small, virus-type program that can accidentally be installed on your computer. How might a keylogger be installed on your system? Visiting an untrustworthy web site. Some sites may have code in them that exploit your web browser and cause it to quietly install a keylogging application without your permission. (Note: even turstworthy sites can be hacked! The same hackers who are after your information can hack what you think of as trustworthy sites and add exploit code to them which could give you a keylogger.) Downloading addons (or other files) from an untrustworthy site. Any executable file you download could contain a keylogger or virus, so before you download a file, be sure you're downloading it from a source you trust! Once a keylogger gets installed, it starts recording every keystroke you make. And when you type in your account name and password for your WoW account, it captures that, too. The next time you access the Internet, it sends your private information to the hackers who use it to log into WoW and strip all your characters of everything valuable leaving you with a penniless toon wearing nothing but his trousers.This all sounds pretty scary, but don't worry -- there are ways to protect yourself from keylogging programs!
User-created WMDs do massive damage in Second Life beta test
Virtual world pioneer Randy Farmer loves to mess around with MMO games. As a beta tester for Second Life, Farmer was responsible for one of the first legendary events in the game: the Jessie Massacre. Out of curiosity, he created a weapon of mass destruction and unleashed it on a community of former WWII gamers. The resulting mayhem made him the target of more than a few nasty looks, but to the rest of the community he was thought of as a hero. Using the SL creation tools, Farmer constructed tiny, almost invisible objects and programmed them to explode into dozens of fragments, flying out at maximum velocity and doing loads of damage. Afterwards the fragments teleport themselves to a random location and start the carnage again. The only way to stop them was for Farmer to shout "STOP!".As you can guess, chaos ensued when the WMD was unleashed in the town of Jessie. Farmer quickly decided his completely scientific beta testing experiment was a success and went to disarm the grenades. Then he ran into a small problem: he couldn't find the little invisible buggers. With help from Linden labs he managed to remove the bombs, but the legend of the Jesse Massacre lives on.[Via GameSetWatch]
Series 60 handsets see SMS trojan virus
We've got to file this new mobile virus named "Trojan-SMS.SymbOS.Viver" -- and the first such SMS Trojan for Series 60 -- under "frustrating waste of time." Sadly, it is most often the user at fault for downloading for granting a bit of dodgy software access to their darling mobile, and while we do feel the sadness for ya if you get stung, if ya takes the risks, ya pays the consequences. Once installed on the Series 60 device, the trojan will begin sending SMS messages to "premium" SMS numbers at a cost of anywhere from $1 to more than $10 bucks a pop. The clever perp would have set up this number ahead of time and would reap the rewards by splitting the bounty with the mobile operator providing the number. We're pretty sure you could get a chargeback for this type of silliness, but will thank our lucky stars that this is apparently limited to Russia at the moment with nothing -- as of yet, anyway -- being reported over here.[Via Unwired View]
Naughtiness on the Nintendo DS
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Naughtiness_on_the_Nintendo_DS'; The Nintendo DS's software library is diverse enough to satisfy almost every genre craving or niche interest. If what you're looking for, however, is a game with more mature themes -- nudity and sexual content -- it's doubtful that your needs will be met. Japanese dating sims and witch fondling titles notwithstanding, the DS doesn't have any Leisure Suit Larrys, Hot Coffee mods, or even porno-Tetris clones.But just like any other scene, the Nintendo DS has a network of people working outside of the fringe to create those illicit goods you'd never ask for at a respectable shop. They hustle their homemade software from the back-alleys of the internet, each downloaded bit transferred in a nondescript paper bag.We're going to take you through that DS underworld, previewing a selection of homebrew games that are sure to arouse your interest. So put the kids to bed, light those candles you've been saving for a night like this, and slip into your robe and wizard hat. This feature is for adult eyes only!
London hit by malware-infected USB ruse
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.
Phone-based virus transmission prank nets Pakistanis
It appears that some wireless customers in Pakistan were recently worried that they may die due to a virus transmitted via their phones. What did they do in response? For starters, the authorities were inundated with concerned Pakistani phone owners and even some Karachi-area mosques made public announcements that there was indeed a killer mobile virus on the loose. We're not talking a software operating system virus here, but a virus that magically jumps from a person to person using a phone handset (through long-distance airwaves?). Pakistani authorities dismissed the large-scale prank by stating that "They (rumors) do not make any sense in technological terms." We agree.[Via textually.org, image via How Stuff Works]
Bogus iPod Virus
So there's this company, Kaspersky, and they say they've discovered the first iPod virus[1]. Oh dear! Everyone panic, alarums and excursions, and all that, right? Not. This is about Podloso a proof-of-concept virus that infects iPods (rather than using iPods as a distribution mechanism). And it goes like this: First, you have to install Linux on your iPod. Next, you have to install the virus to your Linux-capable iPod. Then you have to launch the virus, because "Podloso cannot be launched automatically without user involvement". Once launched, it infects all executable .elf files with a lame message. So here's TUAW take on the matter: if you own an iPod and you run Linux on it? Don't install the virus, 'kay?[Via TechDirt] [1]They're not counting the Windows virus that accidently hitched a ride on some otherwise innocent 5.5G iPods.
Puchi Puchi Virus has surprisingly excellent art
Puchi Puchi Virus is a puzzle game from Keys Factory, a company that generally sticks to game accessories. It's published in Japan by JALECO, who published things like the NES port of Maniac Mansion and Irritating Stick for the Playstation-- we didn't even know they still existed. The gameplay looks like a slightly novel puzzle game based around capturing same-colored items inside a wide beam. But the art is stunning. The DS can do some excellent 2D in the right hands, and Puchi Puchi Virus has some of the best we've seen recently. The characters are vibrant and presented in an anime style, while the backgrounds are more in the whimsical, highly-stylized form of modern Western animation like Dexter's Laboratory.
TomTom fesses up to Trojan infection in GO 910 navigation units
If you've recently plunked down $599-ish for a TomTom GO 910 portable GPS device, but decided to hop onto the interwebs real quick just before you plug that sucker in (yeah, we know, the odds are low), then it looks like it's your lucky day. Apparently the Netherlands-based TomTom just admitted to a UK security journalist that the TomTom GO 910s that were produced between September and November of 2006 have been shipping with a couple Trojans -- similar to Apple's little RavMonE.exe debacle last year. But not to worry: "The viruses that were detected present an extremely low risk to customers' computers," according to TomTom. Of course, relaying to the public such helpful information that TomTom was obviously aware of would be clearly out of the question, but it's nice to know that while manufacturing oversights caused a couple of Trojans to be introduced to unsuspecting PC users by spendy GPS hardware, they at least aren't the nasty kind. TomTom claims the problem has been corrected, and that "Appropriate actions have been taken to make sure this is prevented from happening again in the future." They also have some instructions at the read link for removing the viruses (win32.Perlovga.A Trojan and TR/Drop.Small.qp), which mostly amount to advising you to update your virus software.[Via Slashdot]
