One Click To Rule Them All
Our office got hit by a virus storm this afternoon, and it came from an unlikely source: Instant Messenger.
All of a sudden an old employee popped onto one of our screens with a note to check out a cool "funky" photo. Without giving it too much thought, the victim did what any of us would have likely done - we clicked. Curiosity, one little link, how bad could it be?
You know what happened next. You've heard the stories, you've had the nightmares, it happens. Within seconds malicious software started downloading to the computer and taking over the operating system. The first order of business was to spread itself and it began sending instant messages to everyone in the office. Those who clicked the funky link were destined to the same horror that the first would endure.
The robotic hacker would then install an annoying toolbar on IE, likely to watch and record every keystroke while offering up unrelated and evil offers for savings and vegas vacations. Any attempt to disable, uninstall or delete this intruder were met with scars and hours of hair wringing agony. It seems as though most of the operating system had been taken over. We were getting 3d icons and nameless pop-ups throughout our retreat from the minefield of the internet.
A few google and forum searches revealed that we weren't alone. This problem was spreading, and a few helpful souls offered up some suggestions. Unfortunately, it took many tries to get it right, and each of the three infected computers actually presented a different set of problem. Fun for me!
If you find yourself in this same predicament facing the dreaded toolbar virus, get the computer off the network immediately - it spreads through contact. Then search Google for the name of the issue you're facing and follow what appear to be trusted instructions for removal.
One item I found to be a very helpful piece of software was AIMFix by Jay Loden: http://www.jayloden.com/aimfix.htm - It's goal is "to remove all known AIM viruses in one consolidated removal tool". Bless his heart.
It's also a good idea to get Norton or McAfee installed and checking all programs that get run to (hopefully) avoid such a thing, although the computer which seemed the most heavily protected got the most infected, strangely enough. Although one of the computers was so badly injured that it wouldn't start up anymore and the hard drive had to be extracted...
Morale of the story - watch your clicks and don't bite the funky picture unless you know it's for real!
All of a sudden an old employee popped onto one of our screens with a note to check out a cool "funky" photo. Without giving it too much thought, the victim did what any of us would have likely done - we clicked. Curiosity, one little link, how bad could it be?
You know what happened next. You've heard the stories, you've had the nightmares, it happens. Within seconds malicious software started downloading to the computer and taking over the operating system. The first order of business was to spread itself and it began sending instant messages to everyone in the office. Those who clicked the funky link were destined to the same horror that the first would endure.
The robotic hacker would then install an annoying toolbar on IE, likely to watch and record every keystroke while offering up unrelated and evil offers for savings and vegas vacations. Any attempt to disable, uninstall or delete this intruder were met with scars and hours of hair wringing agony. It seems as though most of the operating system had been taken over. We were getting 3d icons and nameless pop-ups throughout our retreat from the minefield of the internet.
A few google and forum searches revealed that we weren't alone. This problem was spreading, and a few helpful souls offered up some suggestions. Unfortunately, it took many tries to get it right, and each of the three infected computers actually presented a different set of problem. Fun for me!
If you find yourself in this same predicament facing the dreaded toolbar virus, get the computer off the network immediately - it spreads through contact. Then search Google for the name of the issue you're facing and follow what appear to be trusted instructions for removal.
One item I found to be a very helpful piece of software was AIMFix by Jay Loden: http://www.jayloden.com/aimfix.htm - It's goal is "to remove all known AIM viruses in one consolidated removal tool". Bless his heart.
It's also a good idea to get Norton or McAfee installed and checking all programs that get run to (hopefully) avoid such a thing, although the computer which seemed the most heavily protected got the most infected, strangely enough. Although one of the computers was so badly injured that it wouldn't start up anymore and the hard drive had to be extracted...
Morale of the story - watch your clicks and don't bite the funky picture unless you know it's for real!
posted by Andy at
10:31 PM
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