Archive for the ‘Virus Protection’ Category

Critical Remote Desktop Vulnerability

Monday, March 19th, 2012

Do you use Microsoft’s Remote Desktop software to connect to any of your computers or servers at your home or office? There is a new vulnerability that allows for attackers to execute programs on your computer without them even having to have your password.

You can find more information here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/bulletin/ms12-020

If you are on an NMP maintenance schedule, this patch will be applied. If not, make sure you have Automatic Updates enabled and you visit windowsupdate.microsoft.com and apply the fix if you have Windows XP, if you have Windows Vista or 7, use the Windows Update tool in the Start Menu.

PDF Files have Critical Security Vulnerability

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

It was released today on several sites that PDF files, and their corresponding readers have a critical vulnerability that would allow an attacker to compromise a computer, even with many of the normal protections in place that block things such as Javascript.

Foxit Reader (NMP Recommended) and Adobe Reader both have fixes for this vulnerability. Go to http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/reader/ and download and install the latest version.

For Adobe Reader users, make the following preference change:

From the Edit menu go to: Preferences -> Categories -> Trust Manager -> PDF File Attachments and then uncheck ‘Allow opening of non-PDF file attachments with external applications.’

This is a problem that could possibly affect all platforms and Operating Systems, whether Windows, OS X, or Linux.

The Clampi Virus and other Malware

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

There is a rash of news recently about an old virus, the Clampi virus. It is designed to run and do little until the user logs into an online banking site. It then captures the username and password of the person logging in and sends it off to the malware writers who use the information to withdraw money from the victim’s account.

This is really nothing new.

Viruses and other malware of this type have been around for a long time. Either through programs that do similar things, including capturing keystrokes, to “Phishing” attacks, which are specially crafted e-mails that trick users into visiting websites that look legitimate, but actually are fraudulent copies of the genuine site.

The removal instructions for this virus are the same as for most others, turn off system restore, boot in safe mode, run scans, and clean out the registry of the data the virus inserts. Since most new malware uses dynamic naming, that is the name of the program file for the virus is random, you can’t immediately identify which file it is.

Due to multiple vulnerabilities within Windows itself, it is often too late once the victim has visited the website to protect the computer. It is better if it is blocked before it enters your business network.

NMP has a security product, the NMP Expanse, that will intercept and block viruses, spyware, trojan programs, phishing attacks, spam, and other bad data from ever reaching the inside of your network. Best of all, it can be installed without having to reconfigure your network. It can sit quietly and filter all of the traffic going both in and out of your network.

While you still need software on your desktop to protect your system, it is most effective to block the attacks before they ever reach your computer.

Virus Protection

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

There’s been a lot in the news lately about viruses –both the kind that attack computers and the kind that attack people.  Are the two types of viruses really anything alike?

One similarity is that sensible precautions can reduce your risk.  For human beings that includes handwashing and taking vitamins.  For computers, one of the most important things is to stay up-to-date with security patches.  For instance, with the recent Conficker computer virus scare, most machines were safe as long as they had current operating systems, and had installed all the latest security patches.

Another similarity is that the wrong medicine is worse than none at all.  When you get sick, you want the best medical care possible.  But when it comes to protecting their computers, far too many people rely on software that is ineffective, out of date, or, in the worst case scenario, just a front for malicious spyware that is often worse than the viruses themselves.  So don’t install just anything –make sure you have something that really works.

One last similarity:  Most people can’t afford to get sick, and most businesses can’t afford to have sick computers.  So, if you think you have a virus –the computer kind, not the human kind! –or if you just want to make sure you don’t get one, feel free to get in touch with us, your experts at NMP Consulting.