A new Trojan virus has been detected that uses a Microsoft Word vulnerability to infect computers, Panda Software Labs reported.
According to the malware software/research firm, the virus called 1Table.A, releases the Gusi Trojan on the system, allowing infected computers to be controlled remotely.
The vulnerability of the Word program allows "the execution of code on affected systems and, more dangerously, allows the construction of malicious code which is indistinguishable at first glance from a normal Word file," Panda Software Labs said.
It also affects versions of MS Office 2003 and XP, and so far, no patch has been released by Microsoft that addresses the vulnerability.
While, the virus can not send itself automatically, the firm said, it can still be done if a malicious user were to intervene. And still, the virus can be sent as attachments to e-mail messages or downloaded from web pages or P2P file-sharing networks.
"This is a very serious security problem, as it allows malicious Word documents to be created which could take a host of actions on computers," Panda Labs' director Luis Corrons said. "Cyber-crooks have seen the enormous potential of this vulnerability, and it has only taken a few hours until we have seen the first malicious code that exploits it, and no doubt there will be more shortly."
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
Related stories:
New Quantum Strategy Keeps Web Searches Private
When an Internet user types a word or phrase into a search engine, the Web server has the ability to find out that inquiry. As more people and businesses are becoming concerned about privacy, researchers are developing new ways to make online activity more secure for both users and servers.
Scientists reveal a protein's role in enabling AIDS virus to reproduce
A team of scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has discovered new details about how a simian strain of the AIDS virus replicates. The findings are significant because they suggest new strategies to prevent replication, and because they are applicable to human strains of the virus, which, despite the persistent efforts of scientists over two decades, can only be slowed by drug treatments but neither cured nor prevented.
Military bacteria mystery may be solved
A rare drug-resistant bacterium has spread throughout U.S. military hospitals around the world, killing at least 27 since the start of the Iraq war.
New research shows how chronic stress worsens neurodegenerative disease course
The evidence is accumulating on how bad stress is for health. Chronic stress can intensify inflammation and increase a person’s risk for developing central nervous system infections, neurodegenerative diseases, like multiple sclerosis (MS), and other inflammatory diseases, say researchers presenting at the 115th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA). These researchers have demonstrated for the first time that stress-related increases in central nervous system inflammation are behind the adverse effects of stress in an animal model of MS.
Can the tonsils influence oral HIV transmission?
Current research demonstrates that the tonsils may possess the necessary factors to act as a transmission site for the spread of HIV. The related report by Moutsopoulos et al, “Tonsil Epithelial Factors May Influence Oropharyngeal Human Immunodeficiency Virus Transmission,” appears in the August issue of
The American Journal of Pathology.
MS Patch Tuesday Fires Off 14 Critical Updates
System administrators will have to prioritize between updating Exchange and DNS servers while leaving equally important server and application updates dangling, experts say.
MS First Look: Word 2007 Not Bitten by Bugs
Microsoft says it is still investigating reports of posted security holes, but it has found no evidence that the Office 2007 suite is vulnerable to the reported flaws.
MS Word Vulnerabilities Reported on Exploit Sites
Microsoft says it has found no attacks attempting to exploit the reported Office vulnerabilities, but it is continuing to investigate.