Mydoom worm strikes computers

A malicious new computer virus spread via e-mail is clogging networks and may allow unauthorised access to personal computers, experts warn.

The worm, called Mydoom or Novarg, is carried as an e-mail attachment and sends itself out to new e-mail addresses once opened by the recipient.

The virus may also open a "back door" to the computer to give hackers access.

Unlike many of its predecessors, Mydoom does not entice the recipient to open the attachment by promising nude pictures or personal messages.

Instead, the e-mail carrying the virus often bears the subject "Test", "Status" or "hi". The message inside may read: "The message contains Unicode characters and has been sent as a binary attachment".

"Because that sounds like a technical thing, people may be more apt to think it's legitimate," the Associated Press news agency quoted Steve Trilling of Symantec, an anti-virus company, as saying.

The worm only affects computers which use Microsoft Windows.

Users who delete or ignore the e-mail attachment - which usually ends .exe, .scr, .zip, .cmd or .pif - avoid damage.

Symantec said the worm also appeared to contain a programme that recorded keystrokes entered on infected machines. This could allow it to collect usernames and passwords from unsuspecting users.

Other companies said the virus, once fully activated, told Windows to receive instructions from another computer.

However, other companies did not detect such capabilities.

Summary

You should make sure that your computers anti-virus software is updated and that you delete messages carrying attachments with subject headings of Test, Status or Hi.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3432639.stm

Date - 27 January 2004