RealPlayer flaws open PCs up to hijackers

By Robert Lemos 
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
 
RealNetworks acknowledged on Wednesday that three flaws affecting different versions of its media player could allow attackers to create corrupt music or video files that, when played, take control of a victim's PC. The flaws, found by U.K.-based Next-Generation Security Software, can affect RealNetworks' RealOne Player, RealOne Player version 2, RealPlayer 8, RealPlayer 10 Beta, and the company's RealOne Enterprise products. To exploit them, an attacker crafts the data in a media file in a certain way. When people play or stream the corrupted file in a vulnerable version of RealPlayer, the attacker's code will run, compromising the PC. More.... 

Developer Tool Kit Raises Backdoor Alarms

By VINCE TUESDAY
Computerworld
 

How well would you do in a negotiation with a foreign vendor if the representative didn't speak English and your translator was secretly working for a competitor? How would you ever find out? And how would you investigate, even if you did suspect it? We faced this terrible problem recently, but in our case, the translators were programs, not people.

Our software translates stored data into the business information that we use to make decisions and execute trades. If we can't trust that software, then we can't trust what it's telling us about our data. And if we mistakenly trust that data, we'll lose a lot of money very quickly. More.... 

Mydoom lesson: Take proactive steps to prevent DDoS attacks
By JAIKUMAR VIJAYAN 
FEBRUARY 06, 2004 Computerworld

Dealing with a distributed denial-of-service attack such as the one that took down The SCO Group Inc.'s Web site this week continues to be a major challenge for companies, security experts said. But several options are available to at least help alleviate the pain for those that become targets. 
A DDoS attack typically involves thousands of compromised "zombie" systems sending torrents of useless data or requests for data to targeted servers or networks. More.... 

FBI asks computer shops to help fight cybercrime 
By Peter Boylan
Honolulu Advertiser
Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Cyber Crime Squad have been approaching O'ahu computer-repair specialists, network consultants and software developers and asking them to report any overtly criminal activity they find in customers' computers.
Owners of computer repair shops reported that FBI agents have come calling for at least a year.
Some business owners and network security consultants favor the approach, which enlists old-school police beat work to combat high-tech crime. More.... 

Nature of the internet makes cybercriminals hard to catch 
Fort Worth, Texas 
smh.com 
In 1990, Robert Morris Jr carved his name in cybercrime history when he became the first person prosecuted under America's 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. 
There haven't been a lot of others since. Professionals who follow the hazy world of computer viruses and worms bemoan that, but they also doubt it can be helped much. 
"Cybercrime is infinitely more difficult to prosecute than physical crime," said Matthew Yarbrough, a Dallas, Texas lawyer who created the Cybercrimes Task Force at the Dallas US attorney's office in 1997. "If someone doesn't brag about it, it's damn near impossible to catch these people." More....

 

MailWasher 2.0.40 Platform: Windows Last update: 5 February 2004 Developer: Nick Bolton

MailWasher is a powerful email checker with effective spam elimination. Discover the safe way to stop unwanted viruses and e-mails before they get to your computer.

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