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