I just read this amazing article about the STORM Worm by Bruce Schneier on WIRED, it explains in terms most PC users will understand, that there is no defense against the STORM worm. WOW! STORM morphs, moves with stealth and can withstand the best preventive measures. WOW! (again). I didn't know this and it's down right scary.
There is No Defense Against The STORM Worm
How is STORM taking the Internet by ... ahhh ... storm? Mostly through social engineering. That is where unsuspecting surfers click on malicious links. Now don't feel bad if you don't know what a malicious link looks like, they pretty much look like every other link you ever clicked. So much so, that nearly every web professional has clicked on one, so don't feel bad.
No One Knows Who Is Behind STORM
Mr. Schneier surly instills fear. Points at the Russians ... but that's just a guess. The masterminds are so clever it is no stretch of the imagination that it is a "frame up". Then again maybe that's what they want you to believe and it really is the Russians. Whoa, I am getting dizzy. Actually I do not care who is doing it, just that someone is, and we are helpless to stop it.
With Mr. Schneier having such an in-depth knowledge of the problem and the credentials to write for WIRED I would have expected at least some advice on how to protect yourself. There wasn't any. Well, I guess he just left that part up to me.
Well I Guess It's Up To Me
There is hope. it's fast, free and proven safe and effective. So much so, the fact it was not mentioned in the article or at least a link provided to advise the readers how to protect themselves was a bit of a mystery to me.
This worm does focus on Windows, so an obvious solution would be to migrate to either the Mac, Linux or Unix. Unfortunately as soon as we spend billions on software and training, STORM will be on the attack again, using Social Engineering to infiltrate our new networks. Ugggg .... They are relentless!
No Infection Can Survive A Reboot
It is "nasties" such as STORM that prompted me to create this blog about the Internet Freedom Disk. When you use an IFD you can click on anything with inpunity! No infection can survive a reboot. If you have been surfing and now need to do a financial transaction ... reboot ... go directly to transaction site (personally typing in the URL) and have a safe transaction. I can train my kids to do that. It is so much easier to train somone to use an IFD than to train them to spot malicious URLs (remember most professionals have clicked on them).
So it boils down to these Do's and Don'ts
DO:
- Use an IFD with PUMP when doing casual Internet surfing.
- Use only and IFD when doing monetary transactions.
- Type in the URL or use a trusted link when doing monetary transactions.
- Let Windows do what Windows does best ... use it to run MS-Office, Photoshop and Quicken.
DON'T:
- Live in fear of STORM or any other virus.
- Think saving time by not rebooting to an IFD is smart
- Think saving time by not rebooting to an IFD will save you time.
- Think saving time by not rebooting to an IFD doen't really matter.
If you got here and don't even know what the Internet Freedom Disk is then read the Introduction.
1 comment:
Great work!
But I wonder though, as data on the R.A.M. can be recovered, I believe, and rootkits installed permenantly on hardware, maybe STORM or something like it will eventually infect at that level?
Peter
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