Drive-by Trojans Exploit Browser Flaws

[LJM Master]

Drive-by Trojans exploit browser flaws
By John Leyden
Published Wednesday 23rd March 2005 15:10 GMT

Analysis Trojans - malicious programs that pose as benign apps - are usurping network worms to become the greatest malware menace. Sixteen of the 50 most frequent malicious code sightings reported to Symantec in the second half of 2004 were Trojans. In the first six months of last year, Trojans accounted for just eight of the top 50 malicious code reports.

Symantec blames Trojans for an upsurge in client-side exploits for web browsers. Trojans create the means to deliver malicious code onto vulnerable Windows PCs. Browsers are the primary target, but flaws in email clients, peer-to-peer networks, instant messaging clients, and media players can also be exploited in this way.
Browser beauty contest

Between July and December 2004 Symantec documented 13 vulnerabilities affecting Internet Explorer and 21 vulnerabilities affecting each of the Mozilla browsers. Six vulnerabilities were reported in Opera and none in Safari.

Of the 13 vulns affecting IE in 2H04, nine were classified as "high severity". Of the 21 vulnerabilities affecting the Mozilla browsers, Symantec classified 11 as "high severity". Firefox users enjoyed an easier ride with just seven affecting "high severity" vulns over the report period.

Symantec says there have been few attacks in the wild against Mozilla, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, or Safari, but the jury is still out on whether these browsers represent a more secure alternative to IE.

Nigel Beighton, Symantec’s director of enterprise strategy, EMEA, told El Reg that choice of browser is less important than activating seldom-used security zones features to limit exposure. "If you don't set trusted sites and stick by default browser security it's like surfing everywhere on the net with your wallet open," he said.


More here > http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/23/sy..._threat_report/