VNUNet.com: Linux lined up as virus target (as ‘Goner’ spreads woe and a typo)

This item was written hot on the heels of ‘Goner,’:

“The onslaught of the Windows Goner worm warns us to
watch for Christmas Grinches, but next year the warning may extend
to Linux users as the operating system (OS) becomes more of a
target.

‘Of course we will see more and more attacks on Windows, but
Linux will be a target because its use is becoming more
widespread,’ said Raimond Genes, European president for antivirus
at Trend Micro. ‘It is a stable OS, but it’s not a secure OS.’

Jack Clarke, European product manager at McAfee, said: ‘In fact
it’s probably easier to write a virus for Linux because it’s open
source and the code is available. So we will be seeing more Linux
viruses as the OS becomes more common and popular.'”

Complete
Story

SiliconValley.internet.com reports about Goner:

“A brand new worm slithering through the Web is getting
passed by Microsoft Outlook home and businesses users and is so bad
it has the potential of wiping out complete files.

Anti-virus experts at McAfee.com (NASDAQ:MCAF) identified the
worm early Tuesday morning and have named it the Pentagone or
“Goner” after its identification string W32/Goner@MM. The company
assessed the virus as a HIGH risk – it’s most serious rating.

Compared to other well known computer infections such as NIMDA,
Code Red, Melissa and ILOVEYOU, McAfee says this is pretty serious
stuff. “To coin a phrase from Star Trek – this is certainly an
attempt to bring down the shields,” says McAfee Security Architect
Sam Curry. “It has the potential to be as destructive as the
others, but it’s still too early in the game and we won’t see the
full impact of this worm for some time. Unlike the Anna Kournikova
virus that did one thing, this one is a hybrid virus that does a
few things like deleting firewall and anti-virus files.”

More
about Goner