Did you know that there are 65,536 open ports that connect your computer to the Internet, and that hackers are continually trying to find a way through these ports to take over your computer for their own nefarious reasons (none of which are bound to do you much good)? Me, neither.
But, apparently, Vikash Sami and Nizam Dean of Burnaby’s Alphashield do. And, according to Peter Wilson’s article in today’s Vancouver Sun business section, they’ve done something about it.

The MyDoom worms continues to wreak havoc on the Net, destroying computers across the globe. The latest destructive variant of this malicious Trojan, MyDoom.F …
· Can download and execute arbitrary files
· Is a mass-mailing worm that opens a backdoor on TCP port 1080
· Will perform a Denial of Service (DoS) against www.microsoft.com and www.riaa.com, if the computer’s local system date is between the 17th and 22nd of any month.
· Sets up a backdoor in an infected system, by opening TCP port 1080. This could allow an attacker to connect to a computer and use it as a proxy to gain access to its network resources.
As of Monday morning, Network Associates has released version 2.0.7 of the McAfee Stinger programme to eradicate the MyDoom.F from your computer. Download it now, install the programme, set it up and run it. In respect of the MyDoom.F Trojan, it’s definitely better to be safe than sorry.
In addition, click here to download Symantec’s MyDoom.F removal tool.

If you are to follow the various web / tech instructions published on VanRamblings, from time-to-time, it is critical that you have some fundamental understanding of your computer’s file management system.

Continue reading Computer Security: PowerDesk File Management →

McAfee has just released the latest version of McAfee Stinger. Go here for download instructions, and surf safely.