Dasher Worm Attacks Windows

Iria · Dec 16, 2005, 04:41 PM

Just in time for the holidays, a worm called Dasher has hit the Internet. The malicious software, which primarily targets Windows 2000 systems, is one of three new attacks targeting Microsoft's software that has emerged in the last 24 hours. Two other recently posted attacks can crash or gum up the Internet Explorer (IE) browser.

The first reports of Dasher began circulating Thursday and two variants of the worm have now been reported by Finnish security firm F-Secure.

Patch Available

Dasher is based on an exploit for a recently patched bug in Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator, a component of the operating system that is commonly used by database software to help manage transactions. Microsoft rates the bug "critical" for Windows 2000 systems.

The worm's emergence does not come as a surprise. The "proof of concept" code that could be used to make a worm like Dasher first began circulating after Microsoft issued its patch in early October. Some security researchers feared that it could be used to create a worm similar to last August's Zotob attack, which brought down hundreds of thousands of systems worldwide.
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Read More / Source: Yahoo! News

Dec 16, 2005, 04:41 PM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	Dasher Worm Attacks Windows Just in time for the holidays, a worm called Dasher has hit the Internet. The malicious software, which primarily targets Windows 2000 systems, is one of three new attacks targeting Microsoft's software that has emerged in the last 24 hours. Two other recently posted attacks can crash or gum up the Internet Explorer (IE) browser. The first reports of Dasher began circulating Thursday and two variants of the worm have now been reported by Finnish security firm F-Secure. Patch Available Dasher is based on an exploit for a recently patched bug in Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator, a component of the operating system that is commonly used by database software to help manage transactions. Microsoft rates the bug "critical" for Windows 2000 systems. The worm's emergence does not come as a surprise. The "proof of concept" code that could be used to make a worm like Dasher first began circulating after Microsoft issued its patch in early October. Some security researchers feared that it could be used to create a worm similar to last August's Zotob attack, which brought down hundreds of thousands of systems worldwide. __________ Read More / Source: Yahoo! News