New Malware Attacks French Users

Security company Websense reported on December 9, 2008 that a malware piece was targeting French users by exploiting some new security updates recently released by Microsoft. According to the company, to make this malware appear more authentic, spammers have added a real Microsoft security alert 951306 (referred to as CVE-2008-1436) in their fraudulent e-mail.

Moreover, the fake e-mail gives instructions for its recipient in English and French. And just like with most spam cases, e-mails in this campaign too show an attachment namely MS0003-WIN.scr that users are encouraged to click on.

Security experts at Websense state that on running the attachment, which in reality is a malevolent file, it connects through the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) to a BOT Controller. According to the experts, the connection takes place through port 81, which isn't an in-built port. Further, the attached file ties with startup; thereby, ensures that it would run automatically every time the computer reboots. Meanwhile, the problem is that even prominent anti-virus solutions are not able to spot the malicious attachment, said the experts.

Moreover, the day the malware was found coincidently the same day when Microsoft released its security bulletin that contained eight patches to fix 28 vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer. In addition, the experts said that it is not yet clear why the particular malware attacking the French users.

Security experts further said that the days of spammers when they created various fictitious stories to trick people through their messages are nearly over. A new strategy that cyber criminals are using presently is to refer to truly serious events and purportedly give vital information related with them.

Suggesting a remedy to the latest problem, security specialists said that all internet users must not to click any resembling attachment. spammers and other online criminals are using increasingly creative ideas in their promotional schemes to earn more profit. Therefore, computer users need to be extremely cautious against such threats and should secure their systems properly if they want to avoid criminals' malicious activities, security experts stressed.

Related article: New Zealand Releases Code To Reduce Spam

» SPAMfighter News - 16-12-2008

All SPAMfighter products offer a free trial!

SPAMfighter is a free spam filter for Outlook, Outlook Express,Windows Mail, Windows Live Mail and Thunderbird.

Optimize your Slow PC for better performance. Try FREE scan now

Disk space recovery
and disk optimization. Try FULL-DISKfighter free

SPAMfighter Exchange Module is a Spam filter for Exchange server - Free 30 days trial.

Remove Spyware with SPYWAREfighter - Free 30 days trial

Antivirus software for your Windows PC - Free 30 days trial