Tech Shout!

F-Secure Corporation has warned that computer users be ware of the recently discovered Windows Animated Cursor Handling vulnerability, which is also known as the ANI exploit.

The ANI exploit was first discovered On March 31, and is related to the cursor animation files that are used by the Windows operating system. In fact, since Friday, March 31, the number of attacks using this exploit has increased tremendously, with majority of the attacks being traced back to different Chinese hacker groups.

However, it seems that Microsoft the makers of Windows OS, has not yet looked into the matter, as they have not yet released a patch against the vulnerability. For now, F-Secure have advised PC users to protect their PCs by using an antivirus product to block the malicious ANI files.

According to Patrik Runald, Senior Security Specialist at F-Secure, “We’ve seen a lot of activity relation to the ANI exploit during the weekend. This vulnerability is really tempting for the bad guys. It’s easy to modify the exploit, and it can be launched via the Web or email fairly easily. We hope to see Microsoft release a patch for this exploit very soon.”

Due to the ANI exploit, dozens of malicious web sites have been attacking the user, if he or she happens to visit the page with the most common versions of Internet Explorer. However, F-Secure has said that just yesterday, the first worm using this exploit was tracked down.