The kids are at it again. The lil' hacker hellions have found yet another file format to exploit. Is it More Microsoft madness? Gosh no. Could they have devised a different way to sneak a Java bomb into our operating system? Heavens no. The beasties have released an evil hound that attacks one of the few truly fun formats on the web: Flash Animation. Somebody wants to mess with our toons. Now, that's cold.
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"The beasties have released an evil hound that attacks one of the few truly fun formats on the web: Flash Animation. Somebody wants to mess with our toons. Now, that's cold." |
Flash is a type of browser plug-in animation format that flows smooth and seamlessly once downloaded. It looks best when made with clean colors and lines and cartoons look best on flash. It can make flowing, interactive banners and entry pages. I believe it will be the standard format of web animation once broadband controls the web. At least for a while. Then again, maybe not. Now hacker's dirty lil fingers have soiled Flash.
The virus that has been found to infect Flash files is a proof of concept virus. Proof of Concept viruses are better known as Trojan Horses. Downloaded and saved Flash files have been shown to contain a virus called SWF/LFM-926, which infects other flash files saved on your system. At this moment, you can't be infected with the virus from simply viewing a Flash animation on a webpage. Wonder how long that will last?
The file comes via an animated puzzle game. One could conceivably open an email with this game inside and save to open it. Once saved, it installs another file named v.com that then corrupts all other flash files on your comp. Right now, assaulting all the Flash files on your comp would probably only hurt you severely if you made Flash animation for a living. You can remove the Trojan intruder program and get rid of infected files and your computer is not really harmed.
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The problem is that some skateboy somewhere is going to mutate the virus so it can do worse damage. They could twist the code so a Trojan opened by simply viewing a Flash animation on a page. This would be sad because Flash is having a hard enough time in the adult Internet. Broadband connections are coming slowly. More surfers still use dial up and Flash takes precious time to load. While I don't foresee a Flash virus killing the format altogether, a media scare campaign doesn't help it.
Flash is also an optional download for browsers. The majority of browser software lets you install Flash during set-up but Flash keeps updating and new upgrades need to be installed. If a user is already hesitant to download Flash files they might be just as hesitant to download Flash upgrades.
Hopefully, they won't be afraid to download the program to help protect your system from this virus and clear it if you accidentally downloaded it. Anti virus software companies are currently working on adding a search and fix solution for this new type of bad horse. The problem is small at this time but the backdoor has been found and the damage may be irreversible.
The good and bad thing about software is the never-ending process of corrupting and correcting its security. Once someone makes a new software program, you can be assured, there will be someone that tries to invade the security of it. One the security has been invaded; the makers will patch the hole.
The more popular the software, the more holes are looked for. The more that are found, the more they are fixed. Perhaps the hope is not that hackers go away, but that there will always be ways to fix their assaults.
If you have Flash animation on your site, it would be advisable to add a bit of text to proclaim it safe for web viewing. If you make flash banners, I hope you don't suffer because punks decided to invade your medium. If you're fear-mongering child who likes to empower yourself by sending poison email attachments to innocent readers, don't send one to an adult webmaster.