If your business was — or you’re concerned that it might be — a victim of Mydoom, Zindos and Doomjuice worm attacks, you’ll be happy to know that Microsoft has released a three-in-one virus removal that will help you recover.
The clean-up tool, released as a 120 kilobyte download, can identify and zap the Mydoom.A, Mydoom.B, Mydoom.E, Mydoom.F, Mydoom.G, Mydoom.J, Mydoom.L, Mydoom.O, Zindos.A, Doomjuice.A and Doomjuice.B worms.
Once you run the tool, Microsoft says the program automatically checks for infection and removes any of the targeted worms it finds. “If a machine is infected with the Mydoom.B worm, the tool also provides the user with the default version of the host’s file and sets the ‘read-only’ attribute for that file,” the company says.
Microsoft previously released a zapper for the destructive Blaster virus, but this is the first time the free tool can disinfect multiple attack vectors. According to Microsoft, the newest three-in-one tool will not detect or remove malware that exists on a system as a result of the backdoor component created by a Mydoom variant. It also won’t delete any e-mail that contains a Mydoom variant.
The tool works with Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows ME, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP. It will not run on any version of Windows NT 4.0.
Microsoft is working on a long-term plan to include worm-removal tools in a new feature called Microsoft Update that’s on schedule for release by year’s end.
The plans include a complete revamp of Microsoft’s Software Update Services (SUS), which will evolve into a new product called Windows Update Services to be shipped as a free component of the Windows Server. It promises seamless update, scanning and installation capabilities for Windows servers and desktops.