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A new and novel way of spreading viruses and trojans has come to light over the past weeks...
Several instances have been reported of people finding supposedly 'lost' USB sticks  just lying on the pavement or carpark floor.  These unlucky souls subsequently inserted the sticks into their computers or laptops which instantly became infected with a rather nasty and insidious Trojan Horse.  This file trawls the infected computer sniffing out  internet bank login details.  YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

NASTY COPY PROTECTION ON SONY CD'S
Sony BMG said today it will offer a patch for one of its own exploits - one that comes bundled with its music CDs.

The code cloaks itself and by intercepting and redirecting low level windows system calls, forces the audio through a custom player, and restricts the number of CD burns that can be made.

As Sys Internals' Mark Russinovich discovered this week, removing the Sony code using standard anti-malware tools leaves the user with an inoperable CD drive.

Russinovich also pointed out that because the cloaking technique it used to hide itself was so crude, malware authors could hide their own nefarious programs on users hard disks using Sony's DRM software.

However, the patch that Sony will offer doesn't remove the 'rootkit' DRM: it only makes the hidden files visible.

Macintosh and Linux users are unaffected by the DRM kit, which only works on Windows PCs.

It isn't quite the "bombs" the RIAA once suggested it was developing to deter music downloads, but it's in the same spirit.

And here's the patch from First 4 Internet Ltd, the British company that developed the DRM software .

"This Service Pack removes the cloaking technology component that has been recently discussed in a number of articles published regarding the XCP Technology used on SONY BMG content protected CDs." [our emphasis]

The note continues: "This component is not malicious and does not compromise security. However to alleviate any concerns that users may have about the program posing potential security vulnerabilities, this update has been released to enable users to remove this component from their computers."

But wait! Don't do that just yet...

Anti-malware company F-Secure discusses the Sony DRM software here. F-Secure says its rootkit detection software will spot the hidden files, but strongly advises users not to remove it using its Blacklight software, and instead advises users to contact Sony.

"If you find this rootkit from your system, we recommend you don't remove it with our products. As this DRM system is implemented as a filter driver for the CD drive, just blindly removing it might result in an inaccessible CD drive letter," advises F-Secure.

It is alarming how little outrage there is from ordinary PC users. While Register readers are well versed in the restrictions of DRM and the dangers of malware, there's little sign the public shares this knowledge.

Incredibly, the Sony DRM malware has been out on the market for eight months and is bundled on 20 CD titles. Sony said it hadn't received a single complaint until this week. So, disturbingly, most people either haven't run into serious problems yet, or even more disturbingly, don't find the Sony DRM particularly onerous. We pray it's not the latter.

However, Sony's decision to offer a 'patch' that fails to remove the DRM code suggests it isn't too concerned by the howls of outrage heard this week from sophisticated PC users.

And with this level of apathy, the music giants will be emboldened to try these techniques again. And again. And again.

To combat this it will help you to disable autorun on your CD/DVD drive(s)

The UK now holds the mantle of being the worst country in the world for computer viruses and infestations of malware, spyware and adware - thanks to the very swift introduction of broadband!  Users who are unaware of these problems have switched to the super-fast broadband internet connections, unknowing of the problems ahead.

Judging by the amount of computers 'infested' with spyware, dialers (software which connects your computer to premium rate services), pornographic content (unwittingly or unknowingly and usually automatically downloaded) and general malware (malicious software) - all managed on a modem dialup connection, the future looks rosy for the hackers and ne're-do-wells!  Once these machines are permanently connected to the Internet, they will quite literally be able to 'fill their boots' with information gleaned from your computer!

ARE YOU SAFE?...are you SURE??  A security check and update, including disinfection & immunisation will save you time, sanity and money in the long run.  Don't wait until it's too late.  These are not scare tactics, they are annotations from real-life computers I have seen over the past year or so: instances are rapidly on the increase.  Don't wait until you have a telephone bill in the hundreds of pounds or a computer which steadfastly 'refuses' to connect to the internet any more - it will, in most instances, actually be connected to the internet, using your connection for it's own nefarious ends and just denying you access.  Do you use your credit card for transactions?  Brrr, doesn't bear thinking about does it?

Following a consultation and immunisation your Internet experience will be as safe as is possible to guarantee in this day and age.

If you use a computer, THIS IS A MUST!!!  The 'It won't happen to me' or 'I only get email from people I know' brigade are the first to suffer!  Also, this helps the viruses propagate themselves, they rely on people not being immunised thus passing the infection on to others.  It is the most innocuous piece of software, rather like buying tyres for a car...They don't make the car look any better, but when you need to stop in a hurry or manoeuvre quickly on a wet road you will be glad you fitted the new tyres!  Basically, anti-virus software sits as a safety net and will catch and quarantine any infected file before it gets it's grubby mitts on your computer!  - Value for money insurance!!

Firewalls come in two favours - hardware and software...

Some free software is invaluable - most contain some form of spyware or malware.  No truly useful or legitimate software tries to automatically install itself, or nags you to install it.  Think of door stepping -  do you REALLY want everything offered to you on your doorstep?  Do you instantly accept the word of someone on your doorstep who tells you your roof needs repairing and let them do it?

Getting free software via the internet is very much like making love to a beautiful woman....umm I mean very much like the 'buying off the doorstep' analogy!  Any truly useful FREE software on the internet has to be sought out, downloaded and installed by the PC user - it never just  presents itself to you as if by magic.  Any window which pops up whilst you are surfing the internet extolling the virtues of their program and warning you of the dia consequences of NOT installing their program IS LYING!

DO NOT INSTALL ANYTHING OFFERED TO YOU VIA A POP-UP WINDOW...or you WILL regret it!  Your PC is not broadcasting anything it shouldn't be...the pop-up is just 'reading' your IP address - something EVERY website can and usually NEEDS to do.  They will try every trick in the book, including frightening you into downloading software; this will end up being porn or premium rate diallers, webpage hijackers or pop-up generators.

IF IN DOUBT...LEAVE IT OUT!