Brightmail tackles zombies

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Brightmail's new software tackles
zombies

Brightmail's new software tackles
zombies 07/01/2004 10:35 AM
ZDNet UK Jul 1 2004 1:49PM GMT

Symantec to buy Brightmail

Symantec to buy Brightmail 05/20/2004 02:28 AM
CNET Asia May 20 2004 6:06AM GMT

Zombies on the web

Zombies on the web 06/22/2005 02:58 AM
There are actually three different kinds of zombies. All of them are like humans in some ways, and all of them are lacking something crucial (something different in each case).

Hollywood zombies. These are found in zombie B-movies...
Haitian zombies. These are found in the voodoo (or vodou) tradition in Haiti...
Philosophical zombies. These are found in philosophical articles on consciousness...

Zombies on the web

All You Zombies

All You Zombies 07/13/2004 05:32 AM

Lastest reports suggest that most of the spam and viruses out there come from "Zombie" machines -- machines that have been infected with viruses, spyware and other malware -- often unknown to the owner -- that sit and pump out their nasty effluent for the highest bidder.

Is your machine among the infected? Or likely to become so? Who among your acquaintences badly needs some clues and advice?

Here's a simple guide to how to protect yourself, your computer, and your data.

Find out for sure if you're part of the problem -- or how to insure you don't become a part of it.

Symantec to acquire Brightmail

Symantec to acquire Brightmail 05/19/2004 11:39 PM
Symantec said it's buying Brightmail to complement its existing gateway-security products in the fight against enterprise spam.

Brightmail Establishes UK Presence

Brightmail Establishes UK Presence 04/27/2004 05:18 PM
theWHIR Apr 27 2004 9:41PM GMT

BrightMail buffs its software

BrightMail buffs its software 12/09/2003 02:35 PM

Plight of the zombies

Plight of the zombies 02/17/2004 09:56 AM
USA Today Feb 17 2004 1:58PM GMT

Zombies all, and glad of it

Zombies all, and glad of it 08/17/2004 07:40 AM
Chicago Tribune Aug 17 2004 12:12PM GMT

How Much For A Network Of Zombies?

How Much For A Network Of Zombies? 09/08/2004 05:26 AM
USA Today is running a series of articles about various "bad things" happening on the internet, from spyware to phishing attacks to zombies, and one of the sidebar items looks more closely at the zombie problem, suggesting a network of 20,000 zombie machines can be leased for $2,000 to $3,000. Of course, they don't say what the terms of the lease are. Is it for a day? A month? A certain number of emails or DDoS attacks sent? One interesting (and slightly scary) note, however, is that some zombie networks now appear to be using a rotational system to avoid detection. Rather than have all 20,000 zombie machines blasting spam at once, it rotates. This way, not only is it tougher to track down which machines are actually zombified, the owners of those machines are much less likely to notice there's any kind of a problem with their machine -- and, thus, much less likely to clean the machine to free it from its zombie masters.

Zombies for sale

Zombies for sale 09/10/2004 03:04 PM
Compromised PCs are valuable these days, at least to spammers. Some are willing to pay over US$2,000 for a network of zombie PCs.

Una de (ordenadores) zombies

Una de (ordenadores) zombies 07/28/2004 05:53 AM

What are zombies and trolls?

What are zombies and trolls? 02/05/2005 09:26 PM
Dave, I’m surrounded by strange jargon and I feel like an extra in a B-grade horror movie. One mailing list I’m on has “trolls”, and the latest virus can turn my computer into a “zombie”, and my ISP keeps talking about “demons”! Egads! Do I need some sort of exorcist to use my computer now??…

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Zombies at Starbucks

Zombies at Starbucks 04/28/2004 12:14 AM

This particularly ghoulish scene from the movie Security Scenarios from Hell has three actors: WiFi, Zombies, and Spyware.

Perils of WiFi are well known and well publicized (i.e. Wireles s Networks are in Big Trouble, a classic Wired from 2001).  If you are a geek, here is a more technical version of the same from Secur ity-Forums.com.  While the perils were preached before their subjects have, WiFi is now commonly available which means those perils are now common as well.

Zombies are also well publicized.  Typically, they are poorly protected servers or home PCs with broadbands which are hijacked by hackers, supposedly even traded like Yu-Ki-Oh cards in the hacker community, and used to increase scalability to their attacks and to reduce likelyness of capture.

Spyware is software running on desktops that monitors user activities and report back to it's master.  Most of them are just privacy violators, some are used for more sinister purpose and are called trojans.  Earthlink recently claimed that PCs had, on the average, 28 spyware installed.  While I think the claim is over-hype d to fit their agenda, spyware is nonetheless common place and it's not difficult to place one on anyone's compure.  If your PC is more than six months old, chances are that there were plenty of opportunities for hackers to seed it with spyware.

So here is the scene: imagine a new class of spyware that monitors wireless network packets using code from these open source wiretapping tools.  AirSnort and one of the ARP poisoning packages should be enough.  Now imagine this spyware being delivered to laptops with WiFi cards that supports features AirSnort needs.  The laptop just became a new kind of zombie, which I call wireless zombie, that only wakes up when the WiFi card is used.

All that is missing from the scene is the stage: a WiFi hotspot like Starbucks.  The laptop owner sits in a corner and access the Net through the WiFi, it could even be someone like me writing this very blog post.  The spyware wakes up and starts monitoring the wireless traffic looking for passwords and credit card numbers.  If very strong encryption is used, wireless zombies can form a global grid and split up the work of cracking encryption keys.  Once a month, the zombies reports back to their master via USENET posts.

This Zombies at Starbucks scenario is particularly nasty because the potential number of compromises is just staggering.  Maybe the FCC will have to dictate higher level of standards and send out a warning that helps WiFi users detect wireless zombies by the unusual fan activities triggered by the zombie grid working overtime.

BBC Says There are One Million Zombies
on Web

BBC Says There are One Million Zombies
on Web 03/19/2005 02:44 AM
"More than one million computers on the net have been hijacked to attack websites and pump out spam and viruses."

Symantec acquires Brightmail for $390m

Symantec acquires Brightmail for $390m 05/20/2004 05:36 AM
Hybrid defences, market dominance play

MessageLabs taps Brightmail in war on
spam

MessageLabs taps Brightmail in war on
spam 09/02/2004 11:37 AM
Rage against the junk mail tsunami

Symantec Completes Brightmail Purchase

Symantec Completes Brightmail Purchase 06/23/2004 07:33 AM

Symantec To Acquire Brightmail For $370M

Symantec To Acquire Brightmail For $370M 05/20/2004 12:58 PM

Brightmail leaks other user's spam

Brightmail leaks other user's spam 07/02/2004 06:13 PM
Thomas Springer (Jul 01 2004)

Brightmail Bows Reputation Service

Brightmail Bows Reputation Service 01/27/2004 04:07 PM
Internet News Jan 27 2004 8:43PM GMT

Symantec Buys Brightmail for $370M

Symantec Buys Brightmail for $370M 05/21/2004 02:17 PM
theWHIR May 21 2004 6:01PM GMT

Brightmail finds sanctuary with Symantec

Brightmail finds sanctuary with Symantec 05/21/2004 05:22 AM
MS anti-spam play still a threat

Invasion Of The iPod Zombies

Invasion Of The iPod Zombies 02/14/2004 09:28 AM

Other News: Windows Zombies

Other News: Windows Zombies 05/27/2004 09:13 AM
PC zombies created by Windows worms aren't just a "theoretical" problem - they're actually delivering massive loads of spam for their remote masters right now.

Web outage blamed on zombies

Web outage blamed on zombies 06/17/2004 05:12 AM
ZDNet UK Jun 17 2004 9:03AM GMT

NY Times On Spam Zombies

NY Times On Spam Zombies 06/24/2005 06:17 PM

Spammers: Looking for a few good zombies

Spammers: Looking for a few good zombies 05/21/2004 06:59 PM
ZDNet May 21 2004 10:31PM GMT

Symantec to acquire Brightmail in $370m
deal

Symantec to acquire Brightmail in $370m
deal 05/20/2004 05:42 AM
Computer Weekly May 20 2004 10:15AM GMT

Symantec to Buy Anti-Spam Firm
Brightmail

Symantec to Buy Anti-Spam Firm
Brightmail 05/19/2004 08:48 PM
Security software maker Symantec announced Wednesday it is acquiring the anti-spam firm Brightmail in a cash deal valued at about $370 million.

Brightmail acquisition by Symantec seen
as good for IT users

Brightmail acquisition by Symantec seen
as good for IT users 05/20/2004 05:34 PM
Brightmail's acquisition by security and utility software vendor Symantec could help enterprise IT managers make better messaging security decisions, according to analysts and officials at other antispam companies.

Brightmail partners to fight instant
spam

Brightmail partners to fight instant
spam 06/08/2004 01:47 PM

Attack of Comcast's Internet zombies

Attack of Comcast's Internet zombies 05/24/2004 06:03 AM

Comcast Thinks About Stopping Zombies

Comcast Thinks About Stopping Zombies 05/24/2004 08:21 PM

Week in review: Attack of the zombies

Week in review: Attack of the zombies 06/18/2004 02:13 PM
A denial-of-service outage hits Akamai and some of its top customers, and smart phones get their first-ever call from a worm.

iPod Zombies In New Yrok -- It's True

iPod Zombies In New Yrok -- It's True 03/06/2004 02:06 AM
The iPod is allowing Apple to reach people that may not have given the company a second look a couple of years ago. By Jim Dalrymple (Macworld via MyAppleMenu)

Brightmail Denies 'White List' Deal With
Spammer

Brightmail Denies 'White List' Deal With
Spammer 12/21/2003 06:14 AM
Slashdot Dec 21 2003 5:19AM ET

Government Machines Turned Into Spam
Zombies

Government Machines Turned Into Spam
Zombies 08/31/2004 10:06 AM

Hackers hijack federal computers: Not even the federal government is immune. This must be the zombie controllers Holy Grail, 'cause I imagine the feds have some decidedly fast machines lying around.

Hundreds of powerful computers at the Defense Department and U.S. Senate were hijacked by hackers who used them to send spam e-mail, federal authorities say.

More on zombie networks here and here.

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The Inquirer: 'Apple zombies attack
RealNetworks'

The Inquirer: 'Apple zombies attack
RealNetworks' 08/19/2004 05:48 AM
Nick Farrell, writing for The Inquirer, has an "interesting" take on Apple fans and the recent Real/Apple petition snafu...
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Brightmail tackles zombies

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