A destructive MSN Messenger virus has been infecting computers across Taiwan over the past week.
Thousands of users have received a link from friends, only to click on it and discover a backdoor virus has been installed on their computers, potentially giving someone else control over it.
Users who have had their PCs infected said that clicking on the MSN link caused their list of contacts to disappear and it became impossible to close MSN Messenger.
Some users also said that data was wiped off their computers, while others found nothing untoward after clicking on the Messenger link.
MSN representatives said that they were not yet clear how widespread the virus was.
Representatives of Microsoft Taiwan's MSN department said that by following the infected link, they have detected a backdoor virus named BKDR_RINBOT.A, which can access information or record keystrokes.
However, providers of antivirus software believed a different virus was involved.
Patrick Wang (王岳忠), a systems engineer manager from Symantec Greater China said that the virus really was the Backdoor.irc.Bot virus, which turned the computer into a "zombie" that can be controlled by a hacker.
Wang said that it was not a new virus and that it was added to Symantec's virus definitions as early as 2003. At that time, it was passed on via e-mail, but it is now instead being spread via real time communications software.
The virus uses the contact list to send the link so that the recipient will be taken off guard. The purpose of this kind of attack is two-fold: to obtain more contacts to continue to spread the virus, and to gain full control of the infected computer, Wang said.
A representative of TrendLab at antivirus software manufacturer Trend Micro said that infected computers would execute the virus every time the computer was rebooted and tried to connect to an IRC chat room server so that computers connecting to that server would become infected by the virus.
That would allow a hacker to alter files on the infected computer and even launch an attack on a Web site.
TrendLab also warned that it was becoming increasingly common for viruses to be spread via communication applications and that "Bot" viruses that turn computers into "zombies" were increasing by 15 percent every month. It also said the reason Microsoft had identified a different virus could be because it carried another virus or was mutating.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by