PDF Flaw Exposes All to Botnet Attempts

Adobe revealed that a flaw exists even in fully up-to-date versions of Adobe Reader 8.1.2 that 'could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system' This is similar to other bugs that have been utilized recently by the "Bot Herders" to take over Millions of PC's to add to their herds to later be used to send spam to you and your friends.

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Adobe's bulletin and service patch:

http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb08-15.html   

SANS Internet Storm Center (ISC) recommends that you update sooner rather than later.

http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=4616

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While the SANS article mentions that the vulnerability will soon appear on a malware spreading website we at CudaMail expect the "Bot Herders" to start sending millions of messages with links to these malware sites and to use 'social engineering' to get you to interested enough to click on this unsolicited link.

So what can you do to protect yourself?

Update all your programs on a regular basis. Make sure you have a tested backup of all your important information for when - not if - you get infected and have to format and re-install your operating system (the only way to be 100% sure that you don't have a nasty infection) and don't click on links you are unsure about the origins of.

What else can we do as an anti-spam service to protect you?

While we do watch for outbreaks like this closely and will be blocking any messages that have links to known infected sites we always have to be careful to not step over the line and start blocking legitimate links. We could easily write a rule that blocks any PDF file or even any link to any PDF file but this format is used by billions of people to send all sorts of legitimate information every day and so we can't do that except in the case of a major outbreak and then for only a very short while.

So here is a question to you, our dear readers:

Would you prefer to have 100% protection from a new malware outbreak like we expect even if some legitimate messages may be blocked or would you like all your legitimate e-mail's to come through even if a few malware links also come through?

At CudaMail we have a third option - the per-user quarantine - where we can send every messages with a PDF attachment or a link to a PDF into your personal quarantine area. This would require that you take the effort to check this quarantine area and deliberately release the wanted PDF's. Is that a viable option for you?

We want to hear from you!
      
- Shaun