Stuxnet

Stuxnet is a type of Malware that seems to be directed at Siemens Corporation. Not many people are writing about this, for some reason. The writing and press are focussed on the fact that the majority of attacks and reported incidents seem to be in Iran.

And also, that this new form of Malware is very dangerous. It is. Malware is a type of computer virus that masquerades as useful software. It slips by Antivirus programs , usually as an update , patch or fix. There are different kinds of Malware. And there are different vectors.

The worst kind, in my view - is rootkit. These are viruses that try to get administrator, or 'root' on your machine. And the worst vector, is when they replace a driver or protocol. I had a virus damage the TCP protcol once, and the only thing I could do, to fix it - was to uninstall the OS on the machine, and reinstall anew.

In fact, that is what I would recommend. If you are hit with a very bad virus, and you've run scanners to delete it. But it's still there. Just back up your data on a USB key, or some form of external hard drive - and then reinstall from zero. Make sure you've got as many patches as you can, behind your firewall or somewhere safe. A service pack DVD would be great , if you have it - but if not, then just get the patches and fixes from the OS provider.

And if you're hit by Stuxnet, your programmable logic controllers might also be effed. You'll need to reload their software. Better still, update it.

Rootkit attacks are pretty bad. Don't screw around with them. Disconnect the computer from the net, backup your data and re-install. But be careful about backup - don't backup the virus also. It might reside as an executable program, or embedded in an html page that you might click on, or as a macro in a word document. Look for flat data formats like JPG, MPEG, M4P, MP3, PDF, and (as long as macros are disabled) .DOCX and .XLS files.

The net is now glowing with the background radiation of worms, malware and bot attacks. The best advice I could give not to get infected in the first place, is to consider very carefully when you jump from one URL to another - don't click on any windows that emulate your operating system, or ask you to install software for which you did not express request.

And read 2600 Magazine.