Microsoft released further details of a rash of attacks on Windows 2000 servers that has so far stumped the software giant's research team.
In an advisory posted Aug. 30, Microsoft warned customers that several companies had recently observed an "increased level of hacking activity." Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) told system administrators to be on the lookout for Trojan horses--programs that appear to be legitimate but aren't--and for several specific kinds of odd network behavior.

On Wednesday, Mark Miller, security specialist for the Microsoft PSS, said that the attacks seemed to be ongoing, but at a much reduced level.

"We saw a pretty sharp spike," he said, adding that "we definitely consider this to be hacker activity and not worm activity."

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