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Sasser Lives On Despite Author's Arrest
- by Enterprise Security Today

The author of the Sasser worm has been apprehended in Germany, the result of a tip provided by Microsoft . But the emergence of a new variant, Sasser.E, indicates he was not acting alone.

Law enforcement officials are hoping that the capture of the perpetrator -- an 18-year-old who lives with his parents in a small town in Lower Saxony -- will lead to further arrests. On the same day, German police also took into custody a 21-year-old man in Loerrach who allegedly is connected to the spread of the Agobot and Phatbot viruses.

Virus hunters the world over are hoping these two arrests will lead to the unraveling of a network of cyber hackers. Many have thought, for example, that the Netsky virus writer and the author of the Sasser worm were one and the same, due to the similar coding.

Others, though, have their doubts.

"I think [the 18-year-old] might be behind the creation of some of the variants from the earlier viruses," Patrick Hinojosa, CTO of Panda Software, told NewsFactor. "But I think the only original virus he has created is Sasser, due to the fact that the variants were popping up at relatively slow intervals."

Here you can find info on removing and protecting your system from Sasser.

Next Round of Sasser Attacks

Either way, the arrest no doubt will provide some measure of comfort to the millions of PC owners still mopping up after last week's onslaught. However, a new variant of Sasser currently is making the rounds, according to Panda Software.

Called "Sasser.E," the latest worm locates a computer vulnerable to attack and then creates a copy of itself to the Windows directory under the file name "LSASSS.EXE," leading to a system error that forces the infected computer to reboot every 60 seconds -- a result similar to that of previous variants. In contrast to its predecessors, though, Sasser.E has been programmed to erase variants of the Bagle worm.

The development of yet another Sasser offshoot is confirmation that the German teenager is not the only individual programming these worms, according to Luis Corrons, head of PandaLabs. "Rather, it is an organized group of delinquents," he said. "This seems to indicate that there is a kind of cyber war being waged among the creators of the Bagle, MyDoom, Netsky and Sasser worms, and it will continue to cause many more variants of the virus."

Microsoft's Money

What is of particular interest is not the characteristics or number of perpetrators involved, but how they are being caught, says Hinojosa. This past November, Microsoft began offering a $US250,000 bounty for the heads of worm writers. If the two individuals just arrested are convicted, theirs will be the first successful prosecutions stemming from the program.

Microsoft reportedly got a tip from five Germans who approached the company with information about the Sasser virus.

"It will be very significant is someone actually does collect the reward from Microsoft," Hinojosa says. "Other people will see that and then come forward with information they might have about other viruses."

 


   Website Publicity


Marketing Your Website with Press Releases

What is a Press Release?
A press release is a newsworthy story about your business that you submit to various media outlets ~ newspapers, magazines, website, radio, television. This is a wonderful way to get free promotion for your website. Any story that the media picks up will be far more valuable than a paid advertising spot. Having the media do a story about you is like a personal endorsement of your website and business.

What is the Appropriate Format for Your Press Release?

1. Release Instructions
"For Immediate Release";
"For Release Before [date]" or
"For Release After [date]"

Use one of the latter two if your press release is of a time sensitive nature. For example, if you are holding a public speaking event, you will want to use the "For Release Before [date]" and make sure you input the final date for registrations. If you are using the "For Release Before [date]" ensure you are sensitive to media deadlines. Send your release out well in advance.

2. Headline
Write an attention-grabbing headline. Make it benefits-oriented (why would it be of interest to people?) and descriptive. Avoid hype and promotional language ~ remember, this is a news story.

3. Contact Information
Include as much information as possible here. Make it easy for the media to contact you. Include your phone number, address, company name, fax number, email and URL. Include the hours you are available at the listed phone number and add an after hours phone number, if applicable.

4. Summary
Before you get into the body of the release, write a sentence or two to summarize your press release. Make it interesting, you want the recipient to keep reading.

5. Content
This is the meat of your press release. Again, write a benefits-oriented story. Think of the target audience as you are writing. Your target audience is partly the editor or reporter who will be reading the release. Ultimately, however, your target audience is that editor or reporter's readers or audience. You need to write a story that will be of interest to them.

The first paragraph should answer all the important questions - Who, What, Where, When, Why & How?

Add some quotations to add credibility and to break up the story. Quotations can be from you about the topic. Testimonials or commentary from your customers are very effective as well.6.

6. Signify the End of Your Release
The end of your press release is shown by a few simple characters. Place ### at the end of your release.

Other General Formatting Tips

-  Always remember that your press release is not an ad. It is a newsworthy story.

-  Address your release directly to the appropriate reporter or editor. The media receives many press releases each day. A release addressed to a specific person is more likely to get attention than a general submission.

-  Keep your release to about 1 page (or 2 pages maximum).

-  Number your pages 1 of 2, 2 of 2, etc.

-  Use active verbs.

-  Do not use excessive adjectives ~ they sound like hype.

-  Tweak your release when sending to different medial outlets. If you are sending to the local paper your content may be slightly different than if you are sending it to a trade magazine.

-   If you are sending your release by mail, use 8 1/2" x 11" paper.

-   If you are sending your release by email, never send an attachment. Copy and paste your release into the body of the email.

Where to Send your Press Release
You need to build a media list and this will likely take some time. Start local and small. Local and/or small media are most likely to be interested in your story and it's the perfect way to hone your release writing skills. Besides, a lot of the larger media outlets scan the little guys to find stories to pick up.

Try newspapers, trade journals, topic specific magazines, websites, radio shows, television show ~ whomever would be interested in your topic.

Again, always remember to get specific contact information for your press release. A release address to a particular person will get a lot more attention than a general release sent to the media outlet.

 

   Manage Your Email Inbox


Are you overwhelmed by the amount of email your receive? Now's the time to to take control and get your inbox in order. You probably have a number of email addresses and likely belong to a number of newsgroups. Did you know that you can send email to a particular file before it even reaches your inbox?

Yes, it's true - you can make a special folder for a certain newsgroup, a certain email address, emails with a certain subject and none of those messages will clutter your inbox...ever!

Here are the Outlook Express instructions:

Let's say you want to send all your email from your newsgroup called " Business "

1. Make a new folder. Call it whatever you like. For example, let's call it  "Business Group"

2. Go to "Tools" ---> "Message Rules" --->"Mail"

3. Select the conditions for your rule. In this case, I would choose "Where the subject line contains specific words"

4. Then "Select Actions for You Rule " In this case, I would choose "Move to a specified folder"

5. Then in the third box called "Rule Description", you'll see that there are some hyperlinks. Click on them to fill in the details.

a. For your subject line, you can put ---- " Business " (that is if your newsgroup messages have the group name in all the subjects)
b. For your folder, choose the folder you created. ---- in this example, " Business Group "

6. In the fifth box, "Name of the Rule", you can give your rule a name.

Tada! Create a few more folders and rules and you'll be able to prioritize and organize your email experience.