Lirba Sotnot Virus – Worse than Conficker Worm?

NOTE: Yes, this was a April Fool’s joke. – Ryan

Source: Confidential

Reports have been pouring in from all over about a new worm released today with devastating effects. Some say that the actions taken by the worm can lead to worse damages than what has and continues to be caused by the already notorious “Conficker Worm”. This new worm known as 32/Lirba.Sotnot I (aka “Lirba Sotnot”) causes devastating attacks that include:

• Collecting & sharing information on your computer to unknown locations.
• Causing infected systems to inflict DDoS attacks on itself as well as any IP’s attached to windows contacts or IM logs (this includes Google IM, ICQ, AIM, MSN, Yahoo IM, Skype and so forth).
• Disabling port access to devices such as anything that connects to your computer via USB (most noticeably Apple products such as Iphone and Ipod).
• Sharing itself by contacting your Windows/Outlook contacts via email – It does this by sending emails to your stored friends/family promoting sexual innuendos and behavior (Imagine what “mom” would think when she gets one of those….simply disturbing). In most cases the infected emails contain no attachments, therefore it is still unknown how the virus is passed through these messages.
• Randomly moving newly saved files so they do not appear where you last saved them, therefore forcing you to have to hunt them down each time (this is triggered each time you use a windows-based “save” command.

The effects of such a virus is considered to be worse when compared to worms such as Conficker, because recent viruses have been targeting users for the purpose of creating botnets or stealing information. In the case of Lirba Sotnot however, not only is this worm targeting machines for this reason, but it is also seeking damage to the infected computer. It has been awhile since the world wide web has faced such a major outbreak where the virus goes through so much effort to make itself noticable to the infected, as well as leave a devistating mark. Some say that computers are not the only thing at risk in this situation, and that  your self-pride and popularity amongst friends and family is just as vulnerable.

There have also been reports that Apple products are also vulnerable to the worm as well. Currently it is unknown if this is due to a new hybrid of virus or multiple versions afloat. Reports have noted though that the latest editions of Mac OS as well as certain mobile products (Iphone) have been infected and are just as capable of spreading it to other computers and devices. Since the Mac OS is unix-based, researchers are scrambling to determine if other computer operated devices (cars, aircraft, transit systems, etc) can be infected as well – for example, they are worried that newer cars with built in bluetooth for the onboard computer systems (used to read, control and report engine activities and function) might be vulnerable as well if the virus is capable of spreading itself wirelessly to such devices).

Thus far, major anti-virus companies have yet to develop a sufficient protection against the virus since it duplicates so fast (each time changing form making it difficult for the applications to recognize it); however, some companies have publicly announced they are close to a solution, and will provide updates to their users as soon as they become available. Until then, as usual, they advise not visiting any suspicious website or open *any* attachments that may be sent to them (even if they come from someone they know). It might even be best to be careful on what emails you open at all, even those without attachments since the worm doesn’t necessarily require an attachment to pass itself.

More information to be posted as updates are discovered.