Security outfit Kaspersky reports that it has discovered a fresh version of the malicious virus Sinowal which represents a very sophisticated threat and computer users should be on their guard. It’s also employs a new method which is being used for the first time by cyber criminals.

Sinowal, also known as Torpig, has the ability to hide itself by contaminating the master boot record (MBR), which is part of a computer’s hard drive. The MBR is the lowest level of the operating system and by sitting here, it effectively by-passes the anti-virus software.

Sinowal is a botnet forming virus which is designed to exploit weaknesses in websites. One of its most recent victims has been the security hole in the Adobe Acrobat Reader of PDF software.

Sinowal is particularly sophisticated on one level, yet quite simple on another, turning it into a long term enemy of the security experts for many years.

Kaspersky admitted that for many computer users, being infiltrated by Sinowal and its variants was inevitable. Sinowal was adept at creating botnets which would later allow trojans onto the infected computers.

The security firm recommended that anti-virus software be kept stringently up-to-date and that should Sinowal be discovered, special instructions had to be followed in order to remove it.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

If you get an email with an attached PDF promising to explain all you need to know about the swine flu epidemic, don’t open it.

Computer security company Symantec is warning computer users that whereas the spammers were first to exploit public concerns about the possible swine flu pandemic, now the cyber criminals behind malware infestations are taking their turn.

An email with a PDF attachment called swine influenza frequently asked questions.pdf is currently doing the rounds and should not be opened.

It is a real PDF file and when opened, it will have a couple of swine flu related headings and a list of questions and answers. But if you get to the stage of reading it, then you will have already been infected.

It cynically plays on people’s fears to learn more about the disease and it’s implications for various countries.

Symantec say the good news is that if you are running up-to-date anti-virus software, it will have been picked up before it does any damage. The company technicians say the malicious PDF file is known as bloodhound.exploit6 and the dropped malicious file contained in the PDF as InfoStealer.

Adobe already have a patch for the vulnerability in their application and Symantec recommend that it is downloaded as soon as possible. Check the Adobe site for more information.

Guest Article by Neil Camp