[Consultants-alert] Network Status Page Changed
Cruzio Network Alerts
consultants-alert at mycruzio.com
Mon Feb 4 18:10:16 PST 2008
The Network Status page has been changed
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From: Julianne
Title: Spam Increase
Unwanted junk mail is on the rise because of a new botnet. Also called a 'zombie army,' a botnet is a large number of compromised computers that are used to send spam or viruses.
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The reason this botnet is so effective at sending spam is because the virus controlling it wakes up the infected computers only occasionally to send spam, then sends them into hibernation again before they can be traced, identified and shut down.
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Dubbed Mega-D, the botnet currently accounts for 32 percent of all spam, 11 percent more than the Storm botnet which peaked at 21 percent in September 2007.
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The reason the junk mail is getting through the Cruzio filters is because it is image-based and contains a GIF file with little text. Decreasing the strictness of the filter from a higher to a lower number in your email control panels will help ameliorate the problem.
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The best way to protect your computer from becoming a zombie member of this botnet is by never opening email from a source not known to you. <p>
Cruzio engineers are monitoring security sites and other resources in an effort to find a means of combatting this new type of botnet and hope to find a way to reduce the junk mail volume soon.
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