ISPs asked to cut off malware-infected PCs
The Internet Industry Association (IIA) has drafted a new code of conduct that suggests Internet Service Providers (ISPs) contact, and in some cases disconnect, customers that have malware-infected computers.
The drafted code, which will not be mandatory, suggested ISPs take a four-step approach to protecting customers.
- Identification of compromised computers - Contact affected customer - Provision of information and advice to fix the compromised system; and - A reporting function for alerting about serious scale threats, such as those, that may threaten national security.
Microsoft has finally removed a function from earlier versions of its Windows operating system that has been widely abused by miscreants to surreptitiously install malware on users' computers.
Scammers tricked the New York Times' Digital Advertising department into placing a malicious ad for fake antivirus software on the NYTimes.com Web site over the weekend, the company confirmed Monday. The newspaper had warned of the scam advertisement Sunday, after receiving about 100 e-mails from concerned readers.
A screen shot of the pop-up window that appears as if it is scanning for viruses.
In a recent study, a total of 226 administrators, CIOs and security specialists were asked what they thought of signature and blacklist-based solutions. Three out of four administrators consider signature-based enterprise anti-virus protection unreliable. For zero day attacks in particular, two thirds of the administrators surveyed did not believe that standard anti-virus products helped to prevent attacks.
--Brian Valentine, Microsoft executive