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Flame virus threatens Windows
Microsoft warns that, due to a security flaw in the Windows operating system, more computers are infected with a virus called Flame and has released a patch that should solve the problem.
The authors of Flame disguised this virus by presenting it as a legitimate Microsoft product. Computer security experts also call it "elegantinm" because of the way it attacked computers. It is believed that it was used to deliver other cyber weapons, which have yet to be discovered, writes My Broadband.
Flame's Code included a digital certificate, which misrepresented it as part of legitimate Microsoft software. The creators of the virus obtained the certificate by processing a component of Windows that deals with authorizing business clients to continue using the advanced options of that operating system. It is feared that other virus writers could resort to the same method.
The first news about the appearance of the Flame virus appeared a week ago. Computer security experts believed it was the work of the same country – or more – behind the Stuxnet worm, which was used to attack Iran's nuclear facilities in 2010. Meanwhile, the New York Times published an article claiming that Israel and the US were responsible for Stuxnet.
Kaspersky Lab Flame virus analysis
Kaspersky Lab announced the discovery of a highly sophisticated malware, known as Flame, that was in active use as a cyber weapon against targeted entities in several countries.
The flame was discovered by Kaspersky Lab experts during an investigation requested by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Analysis of the malware revealed that it is the largest and most complex attack tool to date.
Kaspersky Lab has found that the program is currently being used for cyber espionage and aims to infect computers to steal data and sensitive information. The stolen data is then sent to one of the command and control (K and K) servers of the Flame virus.
Who has a Flame virus removal tool?
Security experts from the country with the largest number of computers infected with Flame, Iran, have announced that they have developed a tool that can detect this supervirus and clean its systems of it.
The virus itself was found after the UN's International Telecommunication Union asked security companies around the world to reveal what was wiping their sensitive data (one of Flame's many functions) from computers across the Middle East.
The three main reasons why it was discovered only now, even though it was put into circulation back in March 2010, are:
- Flame is completely different from common viruses, trojans, and worms, so it could not be detected by classical methods;
- Its action was strictly directed, and not the result of unpredictable and free spread among computers;
- The virus scanned the system for installed antiviruses - then it would disguise itself as a file that the given antivirus considers safe.
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