Virus And Spyware Removal

Microsoft Silverlight

Microsoft issued an update to Silverlight for Windows and the Mac to fix a number of bugs to improve security and reliability. The update also adds performance improvement and new functionality including support for web conferencing, printing and better video and networking. The update should be backward-compatible with existing Silverlight applications.

Some of the bugs fixed in this update are platform-specific, such as a problem playing back DRM content on OS X in some cases or a different DRM playback bug on Windows XP. Another bug on OS X involves a large memory leak. There are some crash bugs that affect both platforms.

The update will be offered or, if Silverlight is so-configured, installed automatically. By default on Windows it is offered through Windows Update or Microsoft Update (even if earlier versions of Silverlight are not installed) but it can also be offered through Windows Software Update Services or directly from the Silverlight home page.

Note: Much to my surprise, my Silverlight version went down, from 4.0.50541.0 to 4.0.50524.0, after I installed this update on a Vista system. I reported this to Microsoft through normal support channels and will report back with results.

Kaspersky Lab

The latest rage in criminal malware in Russia and parts of Asia is the SMS blocker, also known as just a blocker, according to Kaspersky Threatpost reporting on their Security Analyst Summit in Cyprus.

SMS Blockers are a variant on ransomware, a form of malware that demands payment in order to disinfect a system or decrypt a file. When your system is infected with an SMS Blocker, in order to disinfect it you have to send an SMS message from your mobile phone to a premium number controlled by the attacker, typically at a cost of about $10.

There are different variations of the attack. Some pop up pornographic pictures and keep them up until you pay; some claim your Windows license is invalid and that you must sent the SMS in order to reactivate it. Some ask for two SMS messages.

Boris Yampolsky, a malware researcher at Kaspersky Lab who gave the talk on SMS Blockers, estimates that there are as many as 500,000 SMS blocker infections each day. They use modern, sophisticated techniques to resist detection and removal.

These attacks are not present, at least not in large numbers, in the US because it’s harder here to get the SMS numbers to receive the money. This could change.

In other news from the Cyprus Summit, Kaspersky has released their Q1 Malware Report.Highlights include:

* The number of attempted infections of users’ computers increased 26.8% over the previous quarter.

* The U.S. and Russia have surpassed China in terms of the numbers of servers which host malicious programs located. In fact, malware hosts appear to be fleeing China.

* Adobe, and their PDF products in particular, continue to be the main and growing target of malicious attack.