Computer threat from Nyxem virus (BBC News)

[Up2Late]

(This is from the BBC, but I doubt we are any safer here in the U.S.)
Friday, 3 February 2006, 07:34 GMT

Computer threat from Nyxem virus

Computer security firms are gearing up for the Nyxem virus, which is set to start erasing spreadsheets, Word documents and other files.

Infected PCs will also be used as launch platforms to help the virus seek out fresh victims. Because the virus is known to be lurking on more than 300,000 PCs, this scanning could generate large amounts of net traffic as it activates.

The Nyxem-E virus has been racking up victims since it emerged on 16 January. A website associated with the virus has been keeping count of the machines it has managed to infect and now this counter stands at more than 300,000 victims.

Unlike many other recent Windows viruses, Nyxem-E has been built to delete many popular types of file. Security firms suggest it was written to target businesses because many of the file types it deletes, spreadsheets and presentations, are more common in firms than homes.

However, because many companies have good security systems in place home users are more likely to be caught out. The virus only affects Windows users who must open an infected attachment on an e-mail message to fall victim.

(more at link below)

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4673576.stm>

[longship]

1. Poor Windows users.

They have such a cross to bear.

Be safe. Run Linux. (Or Mac.)

[Demit]

2. >teehee

Oh, well. Windows folks like how much cheaper their boxes are to buy.

[VegasWolf]

5. Yes, an the almost unlimited supply of software. nt

[Demit]

7. Games.

[Up2Late]

3. Thanks, a post about evil computers hackers releasing their new virus...

...just wouldn't be complete without these little jibes from the Niche computer users out there.

What is it now, 2% of the computers in the world run Linux and 4% run MacOS?

Just remember, if Linux ever becomes more popular than Windows, the Hackers will begin to go after after your system.

Be careful what you wish for, using the most common computer is not all it's cracked up to be.

[longship]

6. I don't care how popular Linux is. ;-)

I only care how stable it is, how safe it is, how impervious to problems it is.

It doesn't bother me that only a few percent of the desktops use Linux. But, since you want to fling stats, bear in mind that almost the entire Internet infrastructure operates on BSD and Linux boxes not Windows. If you check out who's using what on the World Wide Web, more people are using Apache (a free server) on some variant of *nix, usually Linux or BSD, more than all other Web servers combined. Google servers run *only* on Linux. What you call a niche, I call the Internet backbone. That's quite a niche. One which Windows will never be able to capture as long as their security model is so flawed.

Apache Web Server
Netcraft Web Server Survey
68% of Web servers on the Internet are running Apache. That means that they are *not* running Windows.

So, I'm not too concerned about the commercial software claims. I'm sticking with stability, safety, and problem-free Linux. You can stick with Windows if you wish.

By the same token, I just love the number of viruses and other crap that Microsoft seems to be incapable of preventing from invading their OS. These are problems which the Linux dev team solved way, way early in the design.

Peace.

[Lance_Boyle]

4. I prefer the "Kama Sutra" name for this one.

It's much better to have one's network admins bending over backwards for Kama Sutra related reasons than "Nyxem." ;-)