First President Obama and now Valentine’s Day
Several anti-virus companies have identified a new outbreak of the Waledac Storm worm, which spreads itself via email messages. The mutated version, known as the Waledac.C worm, was recently spread via emails regarding the inauguration of new US President Obama. Those who clicked one of the false links in the mail were taken to a copy of his official home page with fake news stories. Clicking on any of the links infected computers with the worm.
Now the virus is being spread via purported Valentine’s Day messages, taking the guise of an electronic greeting card. Any links clicked within the mail will bring up a web page with twelve hearts, asking the viewer to select one. Clicking any link infects the user’s machine.
The Waledac.C virus turns an infected machine into part of a botnet, allowing spam to be sent as well as spreading the fake messages to all of the contacts in a newly infected machine’s address book. F-Secure’s website details the worm’s effects as follows:
It is capable of receiving commands from a remote server. Commands include instructions on functions to perform (for example, update malware components or send information from the infected computer).
Brett Venter
