[Am-info] E-mail virus picks up speed

[Erick Andrews]

Ho, hum.  Aren't you glad you don't use Windows?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2621419.stm

The virus is a version of the Yaha worm which first appeared in
February.

The new one was first spotted in an e-mail from Kuwait on 21
December.  Since then, MessageLabs says it has stopped 33,487
copies of the virus.

Yaha.K arrives in an e-mail disguises as an .exe or .scr
attachment, with a variety of subject lines and messages related
to hacking, love, hate and porn.

The terms used in the subject line include Sexy Screensavers 4 U,
Wanna be my sweetheart?  and The Hotmail Hack.

Virus plague

The worm raids the Windows address book to e-mail itself to your
contacts, forging e-mail addresses.

It may also try to shut down security-related software, such as
firewalls and anti-virus programs.

Anti-virus firms say the worm may also launch a denial of service
attack against a Pakistani Government website, infopak.gov.pk.

E-mail viruses have plagued computer users throughout the year.

Figures from MessageLabs show that one in every 212 e-mails
containing a virus in 2002.

This reflects a big increase on previous years.  In 2001, the firm
stopped an average one every 380 e-mails, while in 2000 the figure
was as low as one every 790.

-- 
Erick Andrews