Trojan attacks Microsoft's anti-spyware

Virus writers have created a malicious program that can disable Microsoft's new anti-spyware application, security experts warned on Wednesday.

Antivirus experts, who are calling the Trojan "Bankash-A," say it is the first piece of malicious software to attack Windows AntiSpyware, which is still in beta.

"This appears to be the first attempt yet by any piece of malware to disable Microsoft AntiSpyware," Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at Sophos, said in a statement. "As Microsoft's product creeps out of beta and is adopted more by the home user market, we can expect to see more attempts by Trojan horses, viruses and worms to undermine its effectiveness."

Windows AntiSpyware, built using technology from Microsoft's acquisition of Giant Company Software, is designed to protect Windows PCs from spyware--software that is installed on computers without their owners' knowledge. Typically, spyware generates pop-up ads or keeps track of people's Web surfing.

Like many other Trojans, Bankash attempts to steal passwords and online banking details from Windows users, Sophos said in an advisory. The program targets users of U.K. online banks such as Barclays, Cahoot, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide, NatWest and Smile.

Sophos called the Trojan "Bankash" because it attacks banking customers and installs a file called ASH.DLL onto a victim's hard drive.

Microsoft's British press office was awaiting comment from the company's U.S. headquarters at the time of writing.

Dan Ilett of ZDNet UK reported from London.

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Incomplete story

The story fails to mention that many viruses attempt to disable the anti-virus software from several vendors, it shouldn't be surprising that as new anti-virus software is developed that the builders (ie low grade cretins) of viruses would add code to try and disable that software too.

[jamie.p.walsh]

Wouldn't you know. Not even out of Beta yet

And virus writers are already trying to bash a MS product.

There needs to be International support for legislation to enforce stiffer penalties on virus authors.

Microsoft Security Issues

In News.com section talkback a comment by Jame Walsh 9th of February 2005 said that anti-virus software componies were bashing microsoft over its security problems,

Well Mr Jame Walsh has forgot all the linux and unix users, the home users who complaint about computer crashes,
worm, trojan, viruses writers, hackers, crackers and

the other thousands of companies who file anti-trust suites,

Law enforcement agency's who complain about encrypted software that they can not get around when investigating fraud, child porn, illegal software,and other internet crimes which are all causing these security holes in the first place

Simple solution don't complaint and don't use the internet, remove your anti-virus software and the virus writers will adventually get bore and police will have a field day with your computer dropping in rogue programs themselve and illegal child porn if you challege those in authority, blackmarket software will be useless

Or Microsoft can sit back and watch people say we sorry Mr Bill Gates for destorying your company and it software because we human can not keep up technology advancements that your company is engaged in and we did not try and help them patch up these security holes,

And these virus, trojans, and worms are nothing more than writtern lines of codes that already exist in every new piece of software that have been modified as some update that can easily get in through existing firewalls, anti-virus, spyware software and no amount of security can stop it unless users take matter into there own hands start manually check for ongoing changes to basic software programs files,

So all you business managers and home users start checking you computer software for these rogue software files and don't just relie on some company to do it for you all the time it is like car maintence some times the owner has to get there hands dirty and other times it requires an expert to fixs or a person who becomes sick sometime it's simply requires mums home cooking and other times you need a surgeon in a hospital.

From
Eric O'Malley
[e-mail]

Microsoft

WEll we all knew it would happen. Microsoft had to go and put their name on something so every virus maker could try and attack it! what ****** retards. Giant Anti-Spyware was the best and now Microsoft is going to ruin it just by having their name put on it, ******* **** id like to beat bill gates in the face with a hammer just for his stupidity. I mean look at what hes done to windows! service pack 2 is a pile of monkey **** and you cant even go to microsoft website without downloading or getting a worm.