heads up on virus win32.vitro

[wrapper23]

Fellow BOTL's,
I haven't had a computer virus in years. I have never had my computer completely taken down by one. This past week I did.

It is called the win32.vitro virus and it is fatal if you're running XP and maybe even Vista. There is no stopping it once you get it. The only anti-virus programs that detect it are Avast! and Dr Web CureIt. I was using Symatec AV Corporate which found a strain of it, but not the real deal. And these programs only detect it... they can't stop it yet. The only remedy is to format and re-install.

If you get this virus, and you have USB storage for backup, those drives will be infected also. My data on Buffalo NAS (Network Available Storage) wasn't infected so I was relatively unscathed.

Vitro is a new polymorphic virus created by very smart (but eViL) über geeks who's mission is to take down computers. You can read more about it here.

I thought I was a safe-hex practitioner until a few days ago. Since then, I've learned a lot.

1. Don't trust a web site unless your sure it's OK, you're fully protected and are prepared to re-install.
2. Use Firefox with the NoScripts and RequestPolicy plugins.
3. Get some good drive imaging software. It it will save you a lot of time if you have to resurrect your PC.

[karmaz00]

thats crappy man...thanks for the heads up though

[Cypress]

How did you get infected? Any clues?

[slyder]

Whats wrong with people? Is it really that much fun to ruin peoples computers? Unless they mention the virus in a magazine or a paper you get no recognition. So what do they get out of it? If you want to accomplish something set your sights a little higher....take down some corporate computers or maybe some other countries government computers like Korea or China. Now that will get you noticed!

[Nickerson]

Originally Posted by Cypress

How did you get infected? Any clues?

Videos people watch online that rhymes with Corn or Cornography. j/k j/k

I haven't had an anti-virus for 6-7 years. Not a single virus. I use computers for a living though, so I am my own anti-virus. That and common sense goes a far way.

[DBCcigar]

Thanks for the info.

That's one thing us MAC guys ain't got to worry about though!