Security news
Security news1 October 2002
Sophos says simple steps stop Bugbear worm dead in its tracks
Sophos, a world leader in corporate anti-virus protection, is advising IT managers that the new "Bugbear" worm is definitely spreading.
"The W32/Bugbear-A worm spreads by sending itself in emails, and by copying itself around your network," said Paul Ducklin, Head of Global Support at Sophos. "In this respect, it is much like Klez and ElKern, which are the chart-topping viruses of 2002 so far. So the bottom line on Bugbear is that simply following best practice guidelines for 'Safe Hex' will give you pretty complete protection against it."
Sophos suggests that you take the following steps:
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Update your corporate anti-virus now so that you can detect and prevent the Bugbear virus. If you do not have procedures for rapid updates, implement them now, because you are sure to need them again. Sophos Enterprise Manager is one way to help automate protection updates inside your company.
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If possible, block all Windows programs at your email gateway. It is rarely necessary to allow users to receive programs via email. There is so little to lose, and so much to gain, simply by blocking all mailed-in programs, regardless of whether they contain viruses or not. Sophos MailMonitor for SMTP contains threat reduction technology which can help you block dangerous filetypes and executable code at the email gateway.
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Deploy updated versions of Outlook, Explorer and Outlook Express on all your computers. W32/Bugbear-A exploits two vulnerabilities for which patches have been available for over a year. If you do not have procedures for applying patches for security vulnerabilities, implement them now.
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Urge your users to act as good custodians of their computers. Technologies such as mail filtering, firewalling and anti-virus are not "fit-and-forget" solutions. They do not absolve users from the need to act responsibly, especially when dealing with unexpected emails containing attachments.
Practising safe computing helps you to stay safe. But it also has a positive effect on everybody else: if you do not get infected in the first place, you will not embarrass yourself by blasting copies of the latest virus out to your customers, prospects, colleagues and friends.
