Graham Cluley Oft Quotations

It has obviously taken longer for Microsoft to release a patch for the WMF flaw on the Vista platform than current versions of Windows, but that's because Vista isn't yet released and it was a higher priority to protect the shipping versions of Windows.

All computer users should treat any unsolicited email attachments with extreme caution, or they run the risk of being ripped off. Anyone unfortunate enough to run malicious software could potentially be allowing hackers to gain access to their computer to spy, steal and cause havoc. Users need to savvy-up to reduce the risk of being taken in by greedy, money-grabbing internet criminals.

It appears whoever wrote Zotob had access to the Mytob source code, ripped out the email-spreading section and plugged in the Microsoft exploit.

It appears that whoever wrote Zotob had access to the Mytob source code, ripped out the email-spreading section, and plugged in the Microsoft exploit. It's possible that several people have access to the Mytob source code - so it may not be the last we see of this Internet scourge.

However, when examined by an experienced virus analyst the similarities become clear. It appears that whoever wrote Zotob had access to the Mytob source code, ripped out the email-spreading section, and plugged in the Microsoft exploit.

A vulnerability like this opens the door for hackers to spy on your sensitive information. Users running the affected software should upgrade as soon as possible.

If you were planning a romantic date with someone from your IT department on Tuesday night, think again. Companies have been hanging on, waiting for the official fix from Microsoft for this serious security problem. Businesses will be eager to roll out these security patches as soon as possible to ensure their networks are properly defended. Any vulnerable computer user should update their systems at the earliest opportunity following the release of the patches on Tuesday.

Fortunately, you don't need special antivirus or security software for MP3s. If your antivirus is current, there won't be any damage, because the scanner will catch it.

I am also curious to see whether Microsoft will release its own anti-virus software with the service pack.

There's a lesson for the general public here too. Always keep your antivirus software up to date and don't be too quick to believe everything you receive via e-mail.

Every month Microsoft releases security patches for its software - and it's often a race against time for companies to roll these patches out across their business before a hacker takes advantage of the vulnerability. A security hole which allows hackers with malicious intentions to run code on Windows or Apple Mac computers is very serious, and all affected users should ensure they have defended their systems.

To the untrained eye Mytob and Zotob can appear quite different: one group of viruses travels via email, the other primarily by exploiting a Microsoft security hole.

It's disturbing to see a second worm for Mac OS X so soon after the first, but it should be remembered that this is only two compared to well over 100,000 viruses for Microsoft operating systems.

The bad news is that most people think the situation is going to get worse for Macintosh users, and more threats will be targeted against the Apple community. The good news is that most don't believe it will ever be as big a problem as the one Microsoft Windows faces. What's perhaps surprising is that there is a hardcore element of 21% who believe that threat attempts against Mac users will not grow.

Most businesses have been protecting against this for a couple of weeks. Home users who have not updated their software may be at risk if they open unsolicited subject lines.

Microsoft's credibility will have been damaged by this hack. How can the biggest software company in the world not employ the simple safe-computing practices which could have protected it from this sort of attack?