cassysmiley
01-31-2006, 06:53 AM
Was reading paper online this morning and spotted that there is a new Virus going about. i have pasted and copied it so you can keep an eye open out for it.
Cassy. xx
VIRUS WARNING.!!
A "KAMA SUTRA" computer virus could wreak havoc on the Internet this week by deleting millions of everyday files found on PCs across the world, experts have warned.
The worm was nicknamed after the love-making bible because it spreads through emails promising the recipient attachments that contain sexual images.
But it can lay unnoticed on machines running Windows software and has been programmed to wake up on Friday and wipe out popular file formats such as Microsoft Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDFs, Adobe Photoshop images and ZIP folders.
These are used around the globe for storing common items like letters, accounts and photographs.
It's feared home users and businesses could both be caught up in the chaos should the virus strike, losing a wealth of irreplaceable data if their computer is not protected from it.
Also known as Blackworm, MyWife or Nyxem-D, experts at US firm SANS have spotted it infecting more than 300,000 core systems in the last week, each one containing any number of single PCs.
As well as overwriting the files, it also attempts to disable or delete any anti-virus software stored on the computer.
Virus experts Sophos say it currently accounts for nearly four percent of reports it receives.
Spokesman Graham Cluley said: "In many ways it's a throw back to the old days when viruses successfully spread using messages like 'I LOVE YOU' or offered pictures of Anna Kournikova.
"It's also particularly interesting because it has a deliberate malicious payload, in the form of its design, to delete files on the third day of any month.
"Most threats these days don't use these tricks, as they try to be more subtle in their spread, however there is no doubt that Nyxem-D has been successful.
"My belief is that this worm is more likely to have hit home users than business users, as companies are much better at protecting themselves."
Anyone can protect their computer by ensuring all anti-virus software updates are fully up-to-date. They should also back-up any precious documents and save them to CDs or DVDs.
In a separate case, a virus disguised as a warning about a university rapist has been emailed to students at universities across the UK.
The Stinx-N Trojan horse spams out email messages, which have subject lines such as 'CCTV still of Rapist', 'Do you recognise this person?', or 'Campus Student Raped', and contains the following message:
"Hello, during the early morning of January 25 2006, a campus student was the victim of a horrific sexual assault within college grounds. Eyewitnesses report a tall black man in grey pants running away from the scene.
"Campus CCTV has caught this man on camera and are looking for ways to identify him. If anyone recognises the attached picture could they inform administration immediately."
Mr Cluley said Sophos has received 1,000 reports of it since Friday and added: "Launching the attached file will not show you a CCTV picture of a rapist, but instead punch a hole in your PC's security.
"Hackers are reaching an all time low with this attempt to encourage well-meaning individuals into opening these malicious files.
"Anyone unfortunate enough to run this program risks allowing hackers to gain access to their computer, in order to spy, steal and cause havoc."
Why people have to do this, is always beyond me. :mad:
HTH.
Cassy. xx
VIRUS WARNING.!!
A "KAMA SUTRA" computer virus could wreak havoc on the Internet this week by deleting millions of everyday files found on PCs across the world, experts have warned.
The worm was nicknamed after the love-making bible because it spreads through emails promising the recipient attachments that contain sexual images.
But it can lay unnoticed on machines running Windows software and has been programmed to wake up on Friday and wipe out popular file formats such as Microsoft Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDFs, Adobe Photoshop images and ZIP folders.
These are used around the globe for storing common items like letters, accounts and photographs.
It's feared home users and businesses could both be caught up in the chaos should the virus strike, losing a wealth of irreplaceable data if their computer is not protected from it.
Also known as Blackworm, MyWife or Nyxem-D, experts at US firm SANS have spotted it infecting more than 300,000 core systems in the last week, each one containing any number of single PCs.
As well as overwriting the files, it also attempts to disable or delete any anti-virus software stored on the computer.
Virus experts Sophos say it currently accounts for nearly four percent of reports it receives.
Spokesman Graham Cluley said: "In many ways it's a throw back to the old days when viruses successfully spread using messages like 'I LOVE YOU' or offered pictures of Anna Kournikova.
"It's also particularly interesting because it has a deliberate malicious payload, in the form of its design, to delete files on the third day of any month.
"Most threats these days don't use these tricks, as they try to be more subtle in their spread, however there is no doubt that Nyxem-D has been successful.
"My belief is that this worm is more likely to have hit home users than business users, as companies are much better at protecting themselves."
Anyone can protect their computer by ensuring all anti-virus software updates are fully up-to-date. They should also back-up any precious documents and save them to CDs or DVDs.
In a separate case, a virus disguised as a warning about a university rapist has been emailed to students at universities across the UK.
The Stinx-N Trojan horse spams out email messages, which have subject lines such as 'CCTV still of Rapist', 'Do you recognise this person?', or 'Campus Student Raped', and contains the following message:
"Hello, during the early morning of January 25 2006, a campus student was the victim of a horrific sexual assault within college grounds. Eyewitnesses report a tall black man in grey pants running away from the scene.
"Campus CCTV has caught this man on camera and are looking for ways to identify him. If anyone recognises the attached picture could they inform administration immediately."
Mr Cluley said Sophos has received 1,000 reports of it since Friday and added: "Launching the attached file will not show you a CCTV picture of a rapist, but instead punch a hole in your PC's security.
"Hackers are reaching an all time low with this attempt to encourage well-meaning individuals into opening these malicious files.
"Anyone unfortunate enough to run this program risks allowing hackers to gain access to their computer, in order to spy, steal and cause havoc."
Why people have to do this, is always beyond me. :mad:
HTH.