Computers get a shiver down their spine with five deadliest viruses of all time

‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ has its own online ‘Avatar’ and this time around it is in the form of five deadly viruses PC users would have ever faced. Deadly, Menacing, Ominous as metaphors would also end up coming short in giving an account of mayhem these viruses have unleashed on hapless PC users.   

Death Knell for a PC comes in innumerous forms

Viruses have many forms, stretching from problematic worms spreading like wildfire to backdoor entrances caused by Trojan horse imposters, they are all geared up to break down every PC’s defense mechanism. But then again, discussing about all viruses is a farfetched scenario, so here I would at best enlighten you about only 5 computer viruses which have over time unleashed ‘hell’ on the web.

Well, what are you waiting for go ahead and fortify your PC’s defense mechanism for the going is certainly going to get ugly.

The Evil 5 

Klez

Released in the online world on October 2001, the Klez virus spreads via email sent from an infected recipient’s email address. To a large extent highly malicious in its intent, the Klez turned up the heat an extra notch. Klez was in fact one of the first viruses to spoof email addresses, replacing the address in the “From” field with any address it so pleased. In a way making detection a difficult prospect as users ended up getting infected via their email address books. Klez as a virus was instrumental in exploiting vulnerability in Internet Explorer’s Trident rendering agent (also used in Outlook and Outlook Express) to wreak its havoc.

SQL Slammer Or Sapphire

SQL Slammer or otherwise known as Sapphire targeted Microsoft’s SQL Server and Desktop Engine database software while at the same time initiating a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on various targets. Within minutes of infecting the first server, Slammer began doubling its number of infected machines every few seconds. The ATM outlets of Bank of America ended up bearing the brunt of this virus. At the same time, the city of Seattle was unable to take 911 calls for a period and clients travelling via Continental Airlines ended up experiencing ticketing and check-in hassles. The total damages caused by the virus were estimated to the tune of nearly 1 billion dollars.

MyDoom

‘MyDoom’ started making an appearance in inboxes across the globe in January 2004 and soon became one of the fastest worms to spread across web. Email messages containing the worm were often masked as delivery failures, prompting many to open and investigate the message. On a subsequent click of the attached file the worm would send itself to email addresses found in the local address book while at the same time leaving its replicated version in KaZaa’s shared folder. The knock-out effect of the virus resulted in placing a severe load on services like Yahoo and Google, thus slowing down a PC user’s web search by a long way. Further, the worm ended up carrying two payloads – one was a backdoor entrance allowing an intruder to control the infected computer and another one was a DDoS attack on the SCO group.

Sasser and Netsky

Considered to be amongst one of the most famous outbreaks ever to come into news, Sasser and Netsky are famous not only for their astonishing effectiveness but have been traced back to a 17-year-old German teenager called Sven Jaschan. In spite of being separate viruses, the similarities in the code linked both the viruses to the same individual. Developer whose name was given up by a friend once Microsoft issued a $250,000 bounty. Tried as a minor Sven received a 21-month suspended sentence (and well of course a flurry of job offers from premier security firms).

Storm Worm

Distributed in email messages with a subject line, “230 dead as storm batters Europe”, the Storm Worm as a nasty Trojan horse infected a user’s machine with a malware as and when it became active. Over time, the virus has also been seen masquerading behind other news-inspired subject lines. During its nascent stage, the virus ended up spreading at an incredible rate, with one analyst pointing out the company had detected over 200,000 emails containing links to the virus over a period of just days. To know more about virus  or PC threads just visit here: http://www.pccare247.com/virus-removal.html

The Battle for a more Secure OS Rages On

The battle lines have been drawn and both the operating systems are going all out to woo PC users. Moreover, supporters from both the camps are also pitching in to prove as to why their OS has a bigger fan following over the other. However,in the recent past things have started to become more interesting for it seems the onslaught unleashed by the Mac Malware and Trojans has ended up bringing down things to quite an even keel.

Malware Blues: Mac OS Vs Windows

The sparring continues with regards to ability of both the OS to resist malware. Mac users have an unflinching belief that their OS has only a fraction of vulnerabilities as compared to Windows. But then again to counter the argument Windows aficionados have a belief the subscriber base for their OS is way too big and the Mac has just got to show only a fraction of the same.

Honey, it’s all in the genes

The follies affecting the Microsoft OS are certainly a result of poor engineering rather a large subscriber base. For when Microsoft Windows 95 was launched, the internet and high-end network connectivity had started to grow by leaps and bounds. The advancement ended catching Microsoft on the wrong foot for the amateur PC users using the OS became too easy a prey for hackers and malware. And yes, if it may be pointed out the insecure coding of the OS did not help matters out much either.

On the other hand the Mac was always recognized for its ability to provide a good baseline security and a safe haven where malware was always kept at bay. But then again in the recent times it seems viruses and Trojans such as OSX.Trojan.iServices.B, has ended up blowing the Mac’s security hoopla to smithereens.    

All the more it seems Mac social engineering attacks have gained momentum in the recent past. However, cybercriminals have also ended up realizing the malware being developed by them ends up promising far less returns and ends up gobbling a huge chunk of their resources. Leading to a conclusion the stakes are way far too less as and where Mac users are concerned. And better still at the end of the day, the malware unleashed by them would end up reaping far better returns if and when a larger population comprising of Windows users was to be targeted.  www.pccare247.com