Google Mails Kama Sutra Worm To Video Group Subscribers

On Tuesday, November 7, 2006, Google by chance transmitted messages carrying a bulk-mailing worm called Kama-Sutra to nearly 50,000 members of some e-mail chat listing centered on its Google Video Blog.

Three mails were sent on Tuesday evening to an e-mail directory that transfers e-mails to the Google Video blog. Google said in a letter posted on its site, regretted the mishap and admitted, "Few of these e-mails might have carried a virus known as W32/Kapser.A@mm."

W32/Kapser.A is also popularly called the Kama Sutra worm. A few antivirus firms alerted concerning an impending danger in February, but it eventually waned. Kama Sutra was supposed to overwrite files on affected machines on a particular date. Though, the worm, which circulated under the pretext of pornographic matter, didn't cause much harm.

Through its Video Blog forum, Google informs its users when the "exciting and entertaining" videos are scheduled to be featured on the Google Video Blog. Messages to the mailing list of the group are sent by a few of the Google workers, known as Google Video Team.

This group was blamed for posting out the malevolent message on Tuesday night, stated Google's spokesman, Gabriel Stricker.

Google recommended those who may have got the worm via messages or transferred it from the team's site to execute antivirus software to eliminate it. The firm is adopting measures to ensure that the similar blunder isn't repeated in future. Presently, the transmission control protocols are ready to avert such accidents.

Of late, Google has been witnessing increasing cases of technical faults, something experts are ascribing to the firm's swift progress in last few years. Just a month back, cyber-terrorists discovered a method to issue a false e-mail on Google's authorized blog. The firm also underwent service breaks with its Blogger service lately that enraged the users.

Google isn't the sole firm to spread virus on a mailing list by mistake, as per Graham Cluley, Sophos' senior technology advisor with security dealers. "Mailing lists managed by security agencies have also mistakenly had malicious software mailed to them," he told in an e-mail discussion.

Related article: Google Rectifies Gmail flaw in Three Days

» SPAMfighter News - 11/13/2006