Experts have warned users that the W32/Sober-K worm is spreading widely. The
worm, which can masquerade as x-rated videos of the society
heiress Paris Hilton, is currently the third most commonly
encountered virus, amounting to over 17% of all viruses reported
to Corpex's global network of monitoring stations in the last
24 hours.
The W32/Sober-K worm bulk mails itself using a variety of
different subject lines including "Paris Hilton, pure!"
and "Paris Hilton SexVideos". It can send itself
in either German or English language, depending on whether
it believes the recipient's email address to be owned by a
German or English speaker.
"This latest variant of the Sober worm may catch out
the unwary as they open their email inbox," said Graham
Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "Although
much-publicised virus outbreaks in the past should have made
users more nervous of double-clicking on unsolicited email
attachments, some still find it hard to resist. All users
should be reminded to follow safe computing guidelines, and
PCs should be kept automatically updated with the latest anti-virus
protection."
The Sober-K worm has been the third most commonly sighted
email virus in the last 24 hours, accounting for 17.53% of
all reports. The W32/Zafi-D virus which emerged in December
is presently the most prevalent virus with 22.12% of all reports
in the last 24 hours, with the Harry Potter-inspired Netsky-P
worm in second position at 19.94%.
Corpex recommends home computer users as well as companies
protect their computers with a consolidated solution to thwart
virus and spam threats as well as secure their desktop and
servers with updated anti-virus
and anti-spam
protection such as Armour Plate.
Corpex offers the following advice:
· Update your anti-virus software regularly so you
can identify new worms and viruses effectively and accurately.
Ideally you should be using automatic updates to ensure you
are always defended by the very latest virus protection.
· Emails which sound too strange to be true, or sound
too good to be true, probably aren't true. You don't need
to be cynical or paranoid to exercise caution!
· If you have peer-to-peer file sharing programs installed
on your company's network, consider removing them. It is almost
impossible to make a business case for unregulated file sharing
across the internet, on account of the associated dangers.
· Doing nothing about viruses and worms is not an
option. Once infected by a worm like Sober-K, your computer
will try to send the worm to as many other potential victims
as it can. Even if you don't care about your computer, be
considerate of the effect that your carelessness might have
on other internet users.
Source: Sophos
|
CONTACT
US
Sober
up - Paris Hilton Email Worm on the Rise- 24/02/2005
]
