Sophos launchs ZombieAlert service

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Anti-virus firm Sophos have announced the availability of Sophos ZombieAlert, a new alert service that identifies (you guessed it) "zombie" computers on an organization's network.

Zombie computers are infected machines that give control to unauthorized and remote users, allowing them to send spam from the computer or to launch email-based Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks against web sites.

Sophos estimates more than 50 percent of all spam today originates from zombie computers. In May, the Sober-Q Trojan horse and Sober-N worm worked in tandem to infect and hijack computers around the world, programming them to spew out German nationalistic spam during an election. As spammers become more aggressive, collaborating with virus writers to create armies of zombie computers, legitimate organizations with hijacked computers are being identified as a source of spam. This not only harms the organization's reputation, but can also cause the company's email to be blocked by others.

ZombieAlert advises service subscribers when any computer on their network is found to have sent spam to Sophos's extensive global network of spam traps, and provides rapid notification to customers if their Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are listed in public Domain Name Server Blackhole Lists (DNSBL). This information helps customers locate, disinfect, and protect these systems from future attacks.

Gregg Mastoras, senior security analyst at Sophos said,

"Aside from consumers, organizations such as educational institutions and government agencies are most at risk because they often have complex environments with remote and home users, which makes it far more challenging to provide effective security. Our global network of threat analysis centers, provide around the clock visibility into new and emerging threats, including compromised computers. This alert service gives organizations the opportunity to remedy the situation and clean their systems."

For Internet Service Providers (ISPs), the problem is equally as critical since consumers are largely targeted. Sophos ZombieAlert enables ISPs to identify and alert consumers of the threat while providing the opportunity to recommend that end-users to practice safe computing habits.

[url=\"http://www.sophos.com/products/alertservices/zombiealert/\"][u][Sophos ZombieAlert Link][/u][/url]

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