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Another Microsoft Security Problem

Just in case there is anyone out there still using Internet Explorer, here is another reason not to.

The problem is within the Windows operating system itself, but according to the story on the BBC News website, it appears to be exploited through Internet Explorer.

The original announcement is on the Microsoft Security Blog. I love the fact that it is written by someone from the ‘ Trustworthy Computing’ department – oh the irony

The thing to do is use a better (more secure, standards compliant – you know, properly developed) browser such as Firefox or Google Chrome.

WordPress 3.0.2

A security update for WordPress is out – time to update. The issues were found by Vladimir Kolesnikov and fixed in a day or so by the WordPress team.

This is one of the great things about WordPress. The community of users and developers help to look after the product and even though the vulnerabilities were not really serious, WordPress is usually quick to respond with and update.

More info about the release is in the WordPress codex.

Think Point Virus Outbreak

We have just dealt with an outbreak of the Think Point virus for a business in Coventry.

This virus pretends to be anti-spyware software from Microsoft and displays a fake ‘Microsoft Security Essentials’ alert saying that it has detected a trojan. It then proceeds to run a fake scan and asks for credit card information to buy the full version of the software to remove the supposed infection.

Luckily, our client didn’t take it that far despite the convincing nature of the alerts and messages generated by this malware.

We were able to clean up the first infected computer on-site using our remote support software, which minimised the disruption to the client. (These are the most comprehensive removal instructions we found: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/remove-thinkpoint)

However, other computers required complete re-installation as even the system restore points were infected

Further information about this virus can be found on the Symantec forums.