The Nimda Virus

The Nimda Virus

Probably the most complex and harmful infections has ever been the Nimda virus, in September 2001. Nimda grew to become probably the most common virus on the planet only 22 minutes after it had been launched.

Nimda was as effective because it was since it understood a wide variety of methods for infecting something.

First, it spread itself through email, having a built-in SMTP routine. It might search the infected hard disk for emails and send itself for them. It used a bug in Microsoft Outlook that will make the system to become infected simply by viewing the e-mail.

Second, it checked for shared network drives. Whenever it found a drive that could write itself to, it scattered copies of itself all over the drive. These files were frequently the very first sign that the system about the network was infected.

Third, it might make an effort to infect web servers through a number of different known bugs. Any server that wasn't completely current on patches was at risk of infection.

4th, when the server was infected, it might infect internet sites. Any customer for an infected site might be infected, based on IE security configurations. And, because it was attacking in the server, it might find it's method to corporate intranet sites, not only public websites.

And lastly, it might make an effort to infect any systems which had formerly been assaulted by either the Code Red-colored II or even the Sadmind infections. Both infections opened up security holes about the systems they infected, and Nimda would use them.

Nimda set records for virus tactics. It sent emails that infected on viewing, and set copies of individuals emails on network drives hoping that somebody would open them and infect their system. It infected via website, also it even infected servers. Nimda was an amazing and vicious program which was hard to destroy.