Security News > 2004 > January > Bagle e-mail virus slows, fuels naming debate

http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,89264,00.html [I've said it privately that one way to stomp out Windows viruses is to stop giving them cutesy names, I really wish someone would name the next Windows virus "Big Red Penis". I would think one virus outbreak with Dan Rather or Peter Jennings having to start out the national news talking about the Big Red Penis virus infecting Windows computers worldwide would be enough to get Redmond to take some real action in stopping future outbreaks. - WK] Story by Bernhard Warner JANUARY 21, 2004 REUTERS Antivirus technicians said today that Bagle, the latest e-mail virus to hit global computer users, is in decline and no longer considered a major threat. But as the contagion runs its course, some antivirus technicians are asking whether there's a better way of naming such viruses to alert the public. Since emerging on Sunday (see story) [1], Bagle has been something of a mystery. Computer security experts first called it "Beagle" after pulling the reference from a line of code found in the malicious program. Later, it was given the name Bagle, a misspelled version of the doughnut-shaped roll. Warnings about a malicious bagel drew more questions than normal from the virus-weary public. "Personally, I would have called it Beagle rather than Bagle, for the sole purpose of avoiding all these support calls asking, 'Why did you call it bagle?' " said Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at Sophos PLC, a U.K.-based software firm specializing in virus and spam detection. Agreeing on a single, easily identifiable name is a crucial step in the virus alert process. Quickly publicizing the existence of a new outbreak and developing a prescribed fix are vital to stopping worms and viruses in their tracks. Despite the technical expertise that goes into identifying an outbreak and a remedy, the process of naming a virus is hardly scientific. In the past, digital viruses and worms have been named after favorite lunch dishes or friends, or plucked from the words or phrases found in the code by antivirus technicians. Sometimes the words are jumbled, as with Nimda, which is admin spelled backwards. As a result, computer users have been urged to brace themselves against such notorious contagions as Slammer and Goner. And they have been advised not to be fooled by the infamous Love Bug or click on Anna Kournikova. With hundreds of new outbreaks emerging each month, new monikers are in short supply, experts said. For this reason, some have suggested that antivirus firms devise a naming procedure like national weather services, which have agreed on a long alphabetical list of names for hurricanes years before they form. "What I would like to see is everybody using the same naming scheme," said Alex Shipp, senior antivirus technologist at MessageLabs Ltd., a U.K.-based e-mail virus detection firm. "It's confusing if you think your antivirus software has you protected against one virus and then you hear on the radio it's called something else," Shipp said. But getting virus technicians to agree is no small feat. "I'm afraid it's never going to happen," Cluley said. "These virus outbreaks travel around the world in minutes. If you have a hurricane coming at you, you have a few hours to agree." [1] http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,89222,00.html - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomo () attrition org with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.

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