"Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

OK, one of the NT machines here at work just got hit by this so-called "surferbar" thing. I looked it up on the web and learned how to remove it, but I can't find anything anywhere about how to prevent getting it in the first place. As far as I know the machine I've just cleaned could easily get re-infected at any time.

Apparently this surferbar is propagated via a weakness in directX which makes it vulnerable to a "drive-by download", whatever the hell that is. I'm not sure Zonealarm will be enough to stop this PoS getting onto my XP system at home.

Anyone got any ideas? If I can help it, I'd rather not download any of that anti-spam/ anti popup software (Zone alarm and google toolbar are as much as I want to run, thanks), I'd like to find a windows patch or registry setting that will stop this kind of crud infecting my system.

BTW, I'd just like to point AGAIN that Microsoft are utterly CRAP for releasing operating systems with so many critically dangerous gaping security holes. Every one of these fkn things pushes me that little bit closer to Linux.

[ September 05, 2003, 09:34: Message edited by: dogscoff ]

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

No and no. *sigh* guess I'm going to have to live without the preview window if I want to avoid getting hit by this stupid thing.

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

Yep, such is life. Actually, the preview window is so vulnerable that MS should have removed it from the program. It is a long standing problem that MS has refused to address.

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

Oh yes, the preview window is an invitation for viruses. Apart from that... I didn't know you could turn this "feature" off though. If you would like to use this kind of preview window, I'm afraid you will have to change your mail program. (Assuming they remain safe from viruses and/or not plagued with security holes)

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

Yahoo webmail has a nice feature that let's me view an email without allowing the html stuff to show up unless I click a little "show html" button at the bottom of the email. That way I can read the text of the message before I decide if I want to view the images. Is that possible in outlook? Would that prevent this stuff from getting executed and run on your pc?

Geoschmo

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

You can set outlook to always view emails in plain text instead of HTML.

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

I recall a statement from Microsoft saying that a number of the security holes in various Windows operating systems won't be patched because it might interfere in future "advertising campigns".

Most likey to pull a stunt link Windows 98 and roll 3 years of bug fixes, IE, and a pile of bloatware into one uber-useless windows.

If anything, I think these viruses might have been created and launched as a response to that whole press release.

[ September 03, 2003, 20:36: Message edited by: Klvino ]

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

Dogscoff, this isn't the only or first virus to exploit the preview window. The one time I got a virus, guess how? It was nimda, via that window..

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

Ah, I was waiting for someone to exploit this hole. Some suggestions are here:
Link to CERT

Basically, I have the multimedia options turned off for IE, and I don't go to random websites. Doesn't seem to be a port I can shut off. Assuming that even works flawlessly in ZoneAlarm.

[ September 03, 2003, 12:11: Message edited by: Arkcon ]

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

I think you have to limit the rights of ActiveX to install scripts on your computer. You can change this at the internet security options. Let the system ask you if somthing is allowed to install itself on your PC and you should be fine (I hope...).

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

Hmm, well I'm pretty sure the code came in via some piece of spam in outlook express. Didn't even have to open it, just clicking it to delete it was enough. An activex box came up to tell me that something had been done and you can guess the rest.

Thanks for the response anyway.

I guess I could stay offline for a few days, wait for the rest of the world to get infected and the media to panic and start predicting the end of civilisation and maybe then microsoft will climb down off their moneypiles and actually think about releasing a patch to fix this vulnerability.

Otherwise, I may have to switch to a simpler email client- something that doesn't gormlessly open any and every bloody file emailed to it would be nice. Can you get PINE for winxp?

EDIT: Hadn't read Mephisto's response. Thanks, M.

[ September 03, 2003, 12:29: Message edited by: dogscoff ]

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

People generally use Outlook, or 'Express', because they have to interface with certain MS network services on a business LAN and no other email programs can do that. (I've spaced the name-- MS Exchange? I forget. You can tell I don't have to F- with it... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif )

There are lots of alternative email programs. Eudora, Pegasus (I think that made the leap from Win 3.1 to 95/98?), 'The Bat' and a bunch of other shareware programs.

The best solution, though, is to completely replace both Outlook and IE. Go to www.mozilla.org and download the 1.4 Version (latest 'stable' release) of Mozilla! Yes, it's available for Windows and the full install is only about 13 megabytes. Not too bad even on a 56k link. (Certainly less than IE 5/6!) Shockwave/Flash works with it just as well as with IE and there is a link to get the Sun Java plugin so you can have Java. It has email and newsreader and even IRC (Chatzilla) built-in! This is a complete replacement for all that sh*t that MS has been forcing on people since they realized Netscape existed and decided to stomp them, and it's vastly more secure and reliable. Has some cool features that IE doesn't too, like 'tabbed' browsing.

[ September 04, 2003, 00:34: Message edited by: Baron Munchausen ]

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Do you have the preview window turned off and IE set to prompt for ActiveX ?

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

I've tried the email program that goes with Mozilla- Thunderbird- but I can't get it to do threaded display AND sort by date at the same time.

As in, sort by thread, then sort the thread starts by date. Turning on one turns off the other.

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

To turn Off/On the Preview Pane:-
Microsoft Outlook - Click on 'View', 'Preview Pane'.
Outlook Express - Click on 'View', 'Layout', 'Show Preview Pane'.

I agree with MB, most people use Outlook because of the Corporate world. They get used to using it at Work with MS Exchange, and continue that at home.

Same goes for IE. I use Mozilla at work, but even with Java, I am unable to access our intranet, firewalls and monitoring tools, because of the way Microsoft has designed its code, and made other suppliers only deal with them.

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

I have to use Outlook at work. I have preview off. Outlook defaults to preview, I notice, whenever I create a folder. So I can't blame people who have it on too much.

I never open an email with an attachment that looks frivilous, I just delete. And purge the deleted folder. I never open attachments I don't need -- the Excel spreadsheet with this months cafeteria menu goes straight to the recycle bin -- I don't need to be the propagation point of a macro virus. I'm too well known as a geek, they'll figure I did it on purpose. The secretary can always plead insanity.

At home I use Pegasus mail. Is it more secure? I dunno. I have preview off, and it strips HTML mail. At the very least its a little obscure, people write Microsoft viruses specifically, maybe they'll skip Pegasus. So maybe Pegasus is ok.

I used to use Eudora in the non-spyware mode (fewer features). But the spyware was still there, just inactive. And that was giving Adaware conniptions. So I got rid of Eudora.

[ September 04, 2003, 14:05: Message edited by: Arkcon ]

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

Oh. I forgot to say how I know a virus is going 'round before I go to work. Check the Shrapnel Forums and see if Dogscoff has reported anything. So the plan for you ... um ... Dogscoff is ... um ... uh. Hmmm. Carry on chap. Stiff upper lip and whatnot. Cheers right.

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

This is more of just a random thought rather than support for MS.

Don't be fooled that other software doesn't have security holes and things of that sort, it's just that MS systems are so commonplace that they attract the work/attention of hackers and virus makers to a much higher degree than other software. I suppose if other operating systems/browsers/e-mail clients were more popular, they'd be just as vulnerable as what we have now.

Then again, most of those programs remain unfamiliar to most Users and should be virus and problem free for some time. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

[ September 04, 2003, 15:07: Message edited by: Captain Kwok ]

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

Yes that is exactly the problem Kwok. At best, the alternative programs are slightly less vulnerable than MS ones, at worse they are equally vulnerable, but in both cases, it would be hard to make a program completely safe. [Cynical] And the companies developing anti-viruses software would hate that. [/Cynical] Their main protection is the fact that they are not very used unlike MS programs.

I am using myself Mozilla Firebird (standalone browser) and Thunderbird (standalone mail program), and these two are more than satisfying for me. (I have only experience problems with some sites using layers) And the tabs... This feature is quite hard to explain, but so useful when you have to browse ten or twenty windows at the same time. You could also download the whole Mozilla (the one Baron Munchausen mentioned), there are few differences between that suit and the standalone programs.

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

Outlook is over kill if you only do email. But if you use the other features, then there is nothing else close to it. Same with IE6. It's overkill for surfing, but if you diliver apps from a web server or need to manage 100's of systems, it leaves the rest behind.

Also, the "holes" are not a MS exclusive. I run NIX on one system and I get several security fixes a week for it. Usually the NIX patches are more dificult to install.

Re: "Surferbar" virus>Outlook sucks>best browser/email client
 

On the desktop end of things, that argument could work, but a large fraction of servers do not use windows.

There's also the fact that with open source stuff, you get your fixes promptly (if not included in the bug notification), since there are so many independent programmers available out there.

Now, I don't mind using windows myself; it works well enough for me, but I won't be paying microsoft every 2-3 years to get the same old software in a new package with menus rearranged, some bugs fixed and intrusive software added.
Today IMO, the only things worth upgrading are your monitor, harddrive, RAM and anything from shrapnel.

[ September 04, 2003, 21:05: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie ]