Minggu, 15 Maret 2009

Vundo

Vundo, also known as Vundo Trojan, is a Trojan horse that can be rightly considered as be one of the most erratic and widespread infections to have ever occurred to computer systems. Commonly referred to as Virtumondo, Virtumonde or MS Juan, Vundo causes advertisements of deceitful anti-spyware programs to popup intermittently, thereby severely affecting the performance of the system and denying access to many websites including Google and Yahoo. Till date, no one has yet been able to analyze the effect of Vundo on the web. As per the available records, there are more than 2 million PCs across the world said to have been infected with Vundo and the threat is fast spreading.

Route of Infection - Still many people have not been able to track the way Vundo gets into the system. The most common route employed by the virus is through outdated versions of Java, primarily Sun Java 1.5.0_7. Also, the virus is even distributed through some of the popular websites that attract a large amount of internet traffic. Apart from these, even Windows operating system is increasingly vulnerable to Vundo infection as the virus files have the capability to breach the Windows security firewall. Even victims' systems that download shareware programs from unsafe websites such as those in P2P networks are at an increased risk of getting infected with Vundo. Lastly, even use of illegal software patches and pirated CDs poses an increased risk of Vundo infection.

Symptoms - Whenever Vundo infects the system, it creates random .DLL files that are stored in the Windows registry as well as the system32 directory. As a result, it is difficult to get rid of the virus as these files get attached to Explorer.exe and Winlogon and continue to reside in the memory in a hidden form. The most obvious symptom of a Vundo infection is the appearance of unreasonable popups, which primarily include website advertisements that cite a need of installing an adware program. Also, users might even observe symptoms such as permanently disabled automatic updates, changes in original desktop properties including background and screensaver, impeding operations such as task manager and Windows registry editor, disappearance of desktop icons that will reappear after a short time, and preventing access to websites.

Removal - Once the symptoms related to Vundo are identified, it is important to clear the infection from the system as early as possible. Or else, it can result in an irreparable damage to the computer registry, thereby resulting in complete system failure. Apart from that, Vundo can even help cyber frauds get hold of your sensitive and confidential information such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, or social security numbers. Although there are certain anti-spyware and Vundo removal tools such as Vundofix, and Spybot available in the market, they may not be very effective. The reason is that the virus is extremely dynamic and changes its definitions quite frequently. Hence, the best way to get rid of Vundo is to prevent its occurrence. Alternatively, one can even try software programs such as Norton anti-spyware software from Symantec, Spyware Doctor, Malwarebytes anti-malware and Viola. However, these are expensive and need a subscription.

Prevention - The best way to prevent a Vundo infection is to use authorized and genuine software marketed by the manufacturers. Usually, these software are equipped with automated updates and advanced security features that provide an easy way to stay protected. Secondly, it is always safe to download programs from the manufacturer's websites as they are secure, reliable and trusted. Also, it is always better to equip the systems with advanced and latest versions of any software. If possible, try internet browsing using secure browsers such as Mozilla Firefox rather than internet explorer. Lastly, include a spyware removal tool that provides a real-time protection against internet threats and updates its virus definitions regularly.

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