From: SLF - Vol 3 Issue# 220 Nov.20,1998
From: ravensceo <ravensceo@ravenswoodinc.com>
Another example of why you should be aware of your information security
issues each and every day! As always, your comments are welcome!
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2167337,00.html>
For years, virus researchers and hoax debunkers have asserted a simple
truth: You'll never get a virus from reading e-mail.
Not anymore.
Anti-virus researchers have identified a class of viruses, called HTML
viruses, which hide out in Web pages or e-mail and activates when users
view the content.
"Just the fact that your mail program shows e-mail in a window (could)
spread the virus to your system," said Igor Grebert, senior researcher at
anti-virus maker Trend Micro Inc.
The Cupertino, Calif., company publicly announced, on Wednesday, efforts
to include protection against such viruses in its anti-virus software.
Last week, anti-virus firm Central Command Inc. warned of a more isolated
virus that affected ActiveX controls in certain cases.
Microsoft Corp. accused the companies of scare tactics. "We are extremely
confident that this is nothing that users should be worried about," said
Mike Nichols, Internet Explorer product manager at Microsoft.
Little danger, for now
Indeed, at present, HTML viruses present no danger. Grebert has only
encountered what he refers to as "test viruses" that do not have any
destructive payload.
In addition, while HTML viruses have potential to be nasty, they will have
a hard time spreading out of control over the Internet.
Does this type of virus concern you, or will it have the same limited
impact of most viruses? Add your comments to the bottom of this page.
In order to copy itself to a new Web page, the HTML virus must execute on
a machine from which it is allowed to change the page. This essentially
means that only Webmasters have the possibility of being "Typhoid Mary."
"If you are just a user, you will not infect other people's Web pages,"
said Grebert.
Still, whoever they are, the virus writers have been busy. In the past two
weeks, Trend Micro has tallied no less than 17 new variants, written in
Microsoft Corp.'s VBScript. While none of them could harm users, don't
expect the viruses to have their teeth filed for long. Soon, they could
cause significant problems for users who get them.
Technically, the viruses resemble normal programs. "There is no security
in Windows that limits what VBScript can do," said Grebert. "Can it read
your files? Yes. Can it format your hard drive? Yes."
Another IE hole
Essentially a macro virus, the viruses -- written in VBScript -- are
embedded in the HTML included in a Web page or e-mail.
Users of Windows 98 or more recent versions of Microsoft's (Nasdaq:MSFT)
Internet Explorer and Outlook are at risk, according to Trend Micro, since
both programs are set up with Microsoft's Windows Scripting Host -- needed
to run VBScript.
Microsoft said the problem did not affect Internet Explorer.
"As a user you would have to go to a site that was designed to be
malicious, and users would have to lower the (default) security," said
Microsoft's Nichols. Even when security is lowered, users still are
prompted every time a script tries to run, he said, putting only the most
ignorant at risk.
Rubber gloves before reading
Still, Outlook and other e-mail programs that read VBScript will allow the
virus to execute, claimed researchers.
"The real angle of attack is on HTML e-mail," said Russ Cooper, moderator
of NTBugTraq. "In that regard, people are wide open to attack."
Originally, the threat of e-mail macro viruses was expected to come from
Microsoft's combination of Outlook 98 and Windows 98.
At the end of July, Finnish students found holes in Outlook that let
viruses spread by e-mail. However, that security hole could only be
exploited by luring the user to click on an overlong HTML link.
Several experts had predicted that some virus writer would put the two
together.
Not just VBScript
Netscape Communications Corp.'s (Nasdaq:NSCP) Navigator, which does not
support its rival's VBScript, is immune, said Grebert. "Yet, with the new
features that Sun is putting into Java to compete with Visual Basic, they
may have a similar problem in the future."
In addition, Cooper warns that an HTML virus could be written in
JavaScript just as easily as VBScript.
-o-
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Received on Sat Nov 21 11:38:52 1998