Christmas, it appears, is the time for giving and receiving computer viruses.
Anti-virus software maker Trend Micro Inc (趨勢科技) yesterday urged the public to stay alert because December has traditionally been a season for passing on cyber worms.
"Based on our findings, computer viruses are quite rampant in December, as Internet users send and receive more e-mail and e-cards during the holiday season," said Gary Hsu (許志成), a manager at Trend Micro, the maker of the anti-virus software, PC-Cillin.
He added that with many viruses being transmitted at the same time every year, the company expects more than 30 Internet worms may reappear and attack surfers within this month.
Among them, the viruses known as WORM_KLEZ.G and TROJ_KLEZ.A are the most destructive.
The virus disguises itself as an e-mail from a friend that says, "Hi! Could you help me to locate a job" in the subject line. Once opened, the virus takes control and jams in-boxes by re-sending itself to all listed addresses.
The bug was first noticed on Dec. 25 last year and has reportedly attacked nearly one million users around the world, Hsu said.
"The bug's variants may appear on the same date this year," he added.
Other viruses that may resurface in December include "Christmas Trees," or attachments W97M_BIBDOT.A and W97M_PRIVISSA. Once opened the viruses inside attach to Word files and will spread to the computer's systems, destroying files.
To prevent cyberbugs from infecting computers, Hsu urged Internet surfers to update their anti-virus programs periodically.
Another bugbuster also reminded the public to be cautious when opening e-mail. "I propose that users should not open any e-mail with attachments marked `.exe,' or `executable,'" said Ben Tu (杜俊霖), senior engineer at Symantec Corp in Taiwan (賽門鐵克), maker of "Norton" anti-virus software.
He explained that such files often carry some form of software payload that could cause havoc once released.
"Users may not notice this when they receive animated e-mail greeting cards," Tu said.
A safe way to send and receive Net greeting cards is to use well-known sites.
"As long as you are sending and receiving greetings via well-known Web sites, the chances of getting infected should be limited," Trend Micro's Hsu said.
Nevertheless, you're never 100 percent safe.
Back in October of this year, several Internet hackers reportedly invaded www.friendgreetings.com, infecting the computers of all users who subsequently downloaded greeting cards.
According to Hsu, that site was forced to shut down last month.
"However, users don't have to panic, because in most cases viruses can be detected and blocked by anti-virus software," he added.
The rising Internet penetration rate has made interaction between people and cyber viruses easier.
The real winners in this cyber war appear to be software providers.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”