Worm Deletes MP3 Music Files on PCs

Virus creators at Symantec, the provider of antivirus software, have released a worm that could be used to remove MPEG Audio Layer 3 files (commonly known as MP3) from the compromised systems.

The 'Deletemusic', as the worm is called, spreads via detachable devices. The worm is executed on immediately accessing an infected apparatus. Subsequently, it installs its copies onto all the drives including the removable objects. Further, the worm executes every time Windows starts up on hijacked computer.

As more and more people store digital music on their computers in place of compact discs, a worm that completely deletes an MP3 collection can cost a person really hard. Symantec therefore recommends users who have stored MP3 files on their computers to check the detachable media apparatus before using them on the systems, said the security operations manager of Symantec Security Response, Orla Cox. ENN published this in news on July 31, 2007.

While the worm spreads modestly, it causes few infections. The antivirus vendor, Symantec, has rated it a "less critical" or "no risk" threat. The writers of the Deletemusic worm - the most recent of its kind - have kept themselves anonymous. Virus writers who keep vigil or those who make mischief could be the likely perps, albeit the music industry itself might not be entirely free from involvement in some way or the other. Whichever factor may be responsible for the infection, it could make serious impact on the Windows system.

Malware that erase music from MP3 files are less in number but not non-existent. For e.g., Klez-F worm, that spread widely in 2002, overwrite MP3 files on specific days of a month. Scrambler worm would crawl along the MP3 file and make a noise of a scratched music record. And the famous Mylife-G worm wrote 'My life' over the MP3 files. Notably enough, all the different pieces of malware affected in a same way irrespective of whether the music files were obtained legitimately or illegitimately.

Symantec advises users to maintain up-to-date patch levels especially on PCs that entertain public services and those that can be reached through firewalls like FTP, HTTP, mail, and DNS servers.

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