Welcome | Sign In
TechNewsWorld.com
Security

Worm Lurks in Nude New Year E-Mail

Print Version
E-Mail Article
Reprints
Worm Lurks in Nude New Year E-Mail

The good news, Graham Cluley of Sophos said, is that Wurmark-D is not making much of a mark. "It's certainly not spreading rapidly -- we've only had a handful of reports. The fact that it has such a visual payload probably means that it is less likely to spread than some of the other viruses that are out there," he said.


Tech Industry Paper - Finding Strength Through Customer Service
Poised to capitalize on an upturn in the economy, technology companies are focused on retention & service. This paper, from Convergys, provides the latest research on customer experience for B2B & B2C technology customers. Learn more.

That New Year's greeting with a group of naked men and women spelling out Happy New Year with their bodies could lead to more than just trouble with a significant other. Security firm Sophos has discovered a worm hiding in the photo attachment and named it Wurmark-D.

"The virus spreads using a couple of different e-mail subject lines with an attached ZIP file. If the user runs the program inside the ZIP they get infected," Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, told TechNewsWorld.

Worm Acts While Viewer's Distracted

As a recipient is viewing the image, the virus installs itself on the computer.

The virus tries to shut down any antivirus software it finds. It also harvests e-mail Increase Customer Sales with Email Marketing -- Free Trial from VerticalResponse addresses from the computer and forwards itself to the contacts using its own e-mail engine.

The worm is also called W32/Wurmark-D or W32/Mugly.gen@MM.

The good news, Cluley said, is that Wurmark-D is not making much of a mark. "It's certainly not spreading rapidly -- we've only had a handful of reports. The fact that it has such a visual payload probably means that it is less likely to spread than some of the other viruses that are out there," he said.

Just Another Worm

The worm is nothing unusual as malware goes.

"It's just one of many e-mail-aware viruses that travel via a malicious attachment," Cluley said.

He then reiterated a caution all computer users should heed. "It's really important that people learn to resist launching unsolicited e-mail attachments."

So far, 2005 has not brought a major malware attack, but that does not mean that computer users should let down their guard.

"So far it [malware activity] seems pretty normal. There have been no new major outbreaks yet this year, but old viruses from 2004 are still spreading successfully and causing a nuisance, and new viruses are being released all the time," he said.


Print Version E-Mail Article Reprints More by Susan B. Shor


Related News Alerts

Sophos Activate Alert | Search Archives

More by Susan B. Shor

Salesnet President Jonathan Tang Ready to Take On Salesforce.com
February 07, 2006
"We think it's Salesnet's time now. We've been around since the beginning, we've been lying low, but you're going to start to see more of us. We've done it through organic growth and happy customers. We continue to focus on customers."
Comcast Follows Time Warner in Offering 'Family' Programming Tier
December 23, 2005
"The demand for this type of tier is coming from the FCC and Christian conservatives. It has nothing to do with legitimate consumer demand," Todd Chanko, senior analyst at Jupiter Media, told the E-Commerce Times.
High-Risk Flaw Found in Symantec's Software
December 22, 2005
"Part of the significance of this vulnerability announcement is that your machine can be exploited without you needing to do anything at all. You don't even have to open an e-mail or attachment, and this happens with the default configuration of the product," said Forrester Research senior analyst Michael Gavin.
Don't miss a story -- sign up for our FREE e-mail newsletters and view the latest headlines at a glance.
Tech News Flash [ View Sample ]
E-Commerce Minute [ View Sample ]
ECT News Network Weekly Newsletter [ View Sample ]
Shortcuts
ECT News Network Information
Reader Services
Corporate
ECT News Network