Home
>
Personal Technology
>
SOBIG.F Virus Promises Ill Be Back

SOBIG.F Virus Promises Ill Be Back

On 21 August 2003 Symantec Security Response upgraded the W32.SOBIG.F threat to a category 4.

It is the sixth version of this worm.

SOBIG.F follows a computer worm known as "Blaster," or "MSBlaster," which infected at least 500,000 computers all over the world only a week ago. The "Nachi" worm which is designed to protect pcs from "Blaster" caused its own havoc including infiltrating unclassified computers on the Navy-Marine intranet and the collapse of the check-in system of Air Canada.

Associated Press has stated that 1 in 17 emails sent around the world has been infected.

According to Paul Wood of MessageLabs it took anti-virus companies at least 12 hours to release updated software to combat the worm.

W32.Sobig.F@mm is, in fact, a worm, not a virus. This worm sends itself to every email address it finds in files with the following extensions:

.TXT
.WAB
.MHT
.HTML
.HTM
.HLP
.EML
.DBX

The "SOBIG" worm is found in emails in your inbox with the following subject headings:

RE: DETAILS
RE: THANK YOU!
RE: YOUR APPLICATION
RE: YOUR DETAILS
RE: DETAILS
RE: APPROVED
RE: THAT MOVIE
RE: WICKED SCREENSAVER

I have personally received emails with all of these subject headings on a daily basis. The body of the email simply refers you to an attached file. It is absolutely critical that you DO NOT open this attachment. It is this attachment that contains the "SOBIG" worm.

The "SOBIG" worm is attached to files with the following names:

Movie0045.pif
Your_document.pif
Thank_you.pif
Document_all.pif
Details.pif
Document_9446.pif
Wicked_scr.scr
< p>
Application.pif

The last day on which the "SOBIG" worm will spread is 9 September, 2003. Although this means email address collection and mass-mailing will stop at that date a computer infected with the worm will still try to download updates from master servers even after this date.

The worm affects Windows 95, 98, Me, Nt, 2000 and XP but leaves Unix, OS/2, Windows 3.x, Macintosh and Linux unaffected.

Thankfully Symantec Security Response has created a removal tool which is free to clean an infected computer. To access Symantec's free removal tool visit: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.sobig.f@mm.html

< p>For a free virus scan visit: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.sobig.f@mm.html

< p>This past month's computer attacks follows a historical trend ? virus activity surges when college students have free time on their hands in the summer.

However, there is a suspicion that these kind of virus attacks may be driven by profit motives because worms such as SOBIG.F place a "trojan horse" on infected drives of unsuspecting pc owners which allows spammers to quickly distribute millions of unsolicited emails around the world.

Poorly designed software is declared the main cause of increased virus activity by computer designers as software is often distributed without appropriate amounts of testing.

Microsoft last year announced its intention to slow down software development so that software can be made more safe from infiltration.

Regardless of the cause, here is the reality:

Sobig.A was found on January 9 2003 with no expiry.
Sobig.B was found on May 18, expiring May 31 2003.
Sobig.C was found on May 31, expiring on June 8 2003.
Sobig.D was found on June 18, expiring on July 2 2003.
Sobig.E was found on June 25, expiring on July 14 2003.
Sobig.F was found on August 19, to expire 10 September 2003.

The spread of the SOBIG.F worm is being hailed the fastest ever.

History, therefore, tells us that Sobig.G is, in fact, just around the corner, faster and stronger than each of its predecessors.

As Sobig.F nears its expiry on 10 September 2003 I can almost envisage its evil grin as it declares, "I'll be back."

About The Author

Copyright 2003. Karin Manning. All Rights Reserved. Karin Manning is the webmistress of http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.sobig.f@mm.html and the publisher of Net Wealth, filled with up to the minute tips and techniques for growing your business online. To subscribe visit http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.sobig.f@mm.html and fill in the Newsletter Popunder on entry.

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.sobig.f@mm.html

eco-friendly cleaning service Buffalo Grove ..

In The News:

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

SOBIG.F Virus Promises Ill Be Back

Personal Technology