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WARE: McAfee Instant Updater virus!

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Sea Trac
Master Marine Consultant

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Vanuatu
1357 Posts

Initially Posted - 06/27/2004 : 22:48:40

Friday night a virus loaded and launched from the McAfee Instant Updater server onto my computer, or it at least took over McAfee and mimicked its Instant Updater icon. The Instant Updater icon popped up and when I clicked the X, to close the pop up, Internet Explorer went nuts. IE ran through about a dozen white error message-type screens before I could get it closed. A while later Virus Scan launched in the background and when I pulled up the status window it looked to be running through its normal start up sequence, although I hadn't rebooted the computer. Upon returning to my computer an hour later, the entire hard drive had been erased.

J.B. Manley s/v Sea Trac Allied Seawind II #65
DPO s/v Antares Catalina 25 #4849
Association Treasurer 2002 - 2006
Association Bookkeeper 2002 - 2008
Association Quartermaster 2004 - 2008

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 06/27/2004 : 23:26:23

Welcome back and sorry to hear about the virus. Coincidentally I just installed Norton AntiVirus 2004 immediately prior to reading this post.

There was a blurb on MSN this past Friday AM about a new "net attack" being launched . . . what OS are you running?

One of the Spyware firms was recently accused of launching some sort of false campaign to spook people into purchasing their product. http://msn.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,116586,00.asp

Thanks for the heads-up.

Edited by - OJ on 06/28/2004 00:24:55

Sea Trac
Master Marine Consultant

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Vanuatu
1357 Posts

Response Posted - 06/27/2004 : 23:33:43

Completely updated Windows XP, and IE6.0 with high security. I'm seriously considering replacing McAfee Virus Scan and Firewall with the Norton products now. Waiting for a response from McAfee, though.

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 06/27/2004 : 23:41:04

We use to have McAfee until we were infected with KLEZ and we spent an insane amount of time and effort to correct the problem with no success. We finally installed Norton to remove KLEZ and have used it ever since. Really nice software - especially the automatic updates. But, all code is written by humans . . .

Edited by - OJ on 06/27/2004 23:44:44

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 06/28/2004 : 09:08:42

Norton has spent its time as the goat too. It all depends on what is targeted. A Mac will always be a more secure OS than Windows... unless it gets targeted!

Edited by - on

Brooke Willson
Admiral

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USA
983 Posts

Response Posted - 06/28/2004 : 09:17:01

Get a Mac, and use Safari for your browser and Mail for your email. No runs, no hits, no errors.

Brooke

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 06/28/2004 : 09:34:02

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Brooke Willson
 Get a Mac, and use Safari for your browser and Mail for your email. No runs, no hits, no errors.

Brooke
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
The only time I ever have issues with using a Mac is with attachments in e-mail. As a cross platform user (Mac at home Windows at work) I know that those issues are the result of the Windows users being clueless. The real sign of the times is that the complexity of the Unix based OS X on the Mac and the complexity of XP (the first real Windows OS) has made most of us into clueless users. It is not dissimilar to the computerization of the automobile. What I used to be good at I am now marginal at.

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Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Response Posted - 06/28/2004 : 11:38:47

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">What I used to be good at I am now marginal at.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Long ago, in a galaxie far, far away I was working on a double major, and, for the one was programming Assembly on a VAX-11-750......in those four short years I realized that this field would be moving at the speed of heat for the foreseable future, and that a career in it would be like the dream where you're trying to run through the water...

So, I opted for watching the clouds go by at 500mph with my feet up on the dashboard.....

I've never regretted it.

Oscar
Catalina 250WB#618 Currently FOR SALE:
http:www.woodenshoemusic.com/C250WB

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 06/28/2004 : 20:58:03

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Oscar
 So, I opted for watching the clouds go by at 500mph with my feet up on the dashboard.....

I've never regretted it.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Good choice, Oscar... Although, for which airline do you drive with your feet up on the dashboard?? I have to fly on just about all of them, but like to be a little bit careful... I learned, for example, that if you find out the captain is making his last flight before retiring, GET OFF THE DAMNED PLANE--IMMEDIATELY--EVEN IF IT'S TAKING OFF! (That one was AA)

The risk with Norton (which I use for a firewall and for antivirus) is that, given their market dominance, they are most likely to be targeted by exactly that type of scam. However, Norton's auto-update is transparent, with no interaction involved. (Mine might be updating as I write this--I wouldn't know.) Oddly enough, that makes it more secure than a program that asks you for a response--one that a hacker can mimmic to get you to enable the entry of the Trojan Horse. On the other hand, a firewall is important to make sure that some sort of Trojan that made it in some other way can't communicate back out to its author (with your bank password/PIN, for example) without you being made aware of it. If you have a cable connection, then the firewall is an absolute must because you probably have a fixed "address" on the internet--just like a Web server. That makes it easier for the hackers to get back to you after they've found you.

I am convinced that technology is in an interim (hopefully) period where it has put a very large number of people at considerable financial risk--not just the risk of having their hard dives erased. Part of the problem is that the Internet Protocol was never conceived to be used for what it is now, and part of it is that Bill Gates and Co. got caught behind the curve--they had to buy the software that became the basis of Internet Explorer, and then give it away to kill the competition. As is normal with Microsoft, they caught up marketing-wise, but have failed to do the job with the technology.

Oops... You got me started.......

I'd better leave my PC off for a few weeks now...

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 06/28/2004 20:59:22

Sea Trac
Master Marine Consultant

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Vanuatu
1357 Posts

Response Posted - 06/28/2004 : 21:32:27

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Dave Bristle
 Oops... You got me started.......

I'd better leave my PC off for a few weeks now...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
No, actually that was very informative.

Edited by - on

ddlyle
Captain

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302 Posts

Response Posted - 06/28/2004 : 22:25:42

I like Norton.
I have experienced many problems on several clients' computers who had McAfee. I would never use McAfee.
Never open an attachment (unless you know beforehand it is coming.)
Be very very cautious of something asking for virus updates, etc. unless YOU initiated it. If in doubt CLOSE IT. Always be in doubt.
Delete all your cookies fairly often.
Don't download music or games.
Only go to porn sites from the public library :)

Edited by - on

Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2980 Posts

Response Posted - 07/01/2004 : 07:29:15

Another suggestion is to trade the IE browser for a Mozilla based browser such as Fire Hawk. IE is more subject to attack than Mozilla browsers. This may be because IE is open for attachment of advertising and unrequested intrusion.

Mozilla does not suffer these obnoxious advertisement intrusions, has built in pop up blocker and many other features not found on IE. Tab browsing on Mozilla is a feature that after using it once, will make Mozilla more endearing than IE.

Edited by - on

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