Two million password stealers fingered

**Glaswegian** · 06-23-2008, 12:29 PM

Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool - a program that removes malware from Windows machines - detected password-stealing software from more than 2 million PCs in the first week after it was updated.

One password stealer, called Taterf, alone was detected on 700,000 computers in the first day after the update. That's twice as many infections as were spotted during the entire month after Microsoft began detecting the notorious Storm Worm malware last September.

"These are ridiculous numbers of infections my friends, absolutely mind-boggling," said Matt McCormack, from Microsoft's Malware Response Centre.

Between 10 June and 17 June, Microsoft removed Taterf from about 1.3 million machines, he said.

Microsoft's September detections seriously hobbled the Storm Worm botnet, once considered a top Internet threat.

http://www.techworld.com/security/ne...&NewsID=101983

06-23-2008, 12:29 PM	#1 (permalink)
Glaswegian Moderator/ Rangemaster TSF Academy; Analyst, Security Team; Oor Wullie; TSF Surgeon and Resident Comic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Glasgow Posts: 25,393 OS: Win XP Pro SP3 / Win 7 Pro My System Blog Entries: 10	Two million password stealers fingered Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool - a program that removes malware from Windows machines - detected password-stealing software from more than 2 million PCs in the first week after it was updated. One password stealer, called Taterf, alone was detected on 700,000 computers in the first day after the update. That's twice as many infections as were spotted during the entire month after Microsoft began detecting the notorious Storm Worm malware last September. "These are ridiculous numbers of infections my friends, absolutely mind-boggling," said Matt McCormack, from Microsoft's Malware Response Centre. Between 10 June and 17 June, Microsoft removed Taterf from about 1.3 million machines, he said. Microsoft's September detections seriously hobbled the Storm Worm botnet, once considered a top Internet threat. http://www.techworld.com/security/ne...&NewsID=101983 __________________ Iain - Defender of the Haggis and all things Scottish. I don't help by PM - post in the Forums. PC Safety & Security::PC running a bit slow?::Donate::Photographers Corner