July 2007

Malicious ‘storm worm’ infects computers

A malicious ‘storm worm’ has been flooding e-mail boxes, asking recipients to go to a Web site to open an e-greeting card or to check for spyware on their computers. According to InformationWeek, more than 200 million spam e-mails have been sent.

Unlike other types of viruses, the malware is not embedded in e-mails or in attachments. Rather, the e-mails lure recipients to go to a Web site where machines are infected with a generic downloader. InformationWeek says this pulls the computers into the malware’s growing botnet and leaves infected computers open for additional harm at a later date.

The virus is not detected by many antivirus programs.

According to Symantec Corp., an antivirus manufacturer, the best way to deal with malware is to:

• Install and keep up-to-date antivirus software;

• Do not open e-mail except from trusted sources;

• Delete all unwanted messages without opening; and

• Do not click on Web links sent by someone you do not know.

Sources: InformationWeek , www.informationweek.com; Symantec Corp., www.symantec.com

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