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No Movie Trailer, It’s A Trojan Horse Indeed, Warns Sophos

SophosLabs' security researchers are warning PC users that there's an email teaser widely spammed out. The teaser, reportedly, promises a trailer of the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean 3" along with chances to win free tickets in case the participants are Europeans or North Americans. Infozine published this on May 26, 2007.

However this email, instead of showing a trailer of the blockbuster film that had Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley as its star cast, carries a Trojan horse Troj/Yar as attachment.

"Obviously, there're no tickets. Also there's no trailer of the movie. Only a nasty program is there that attempts to download more malware from Internet. Don't forget that an email that sounds more than just good can never be true," Paul Ducklin, Technology Head for Sophos' Asia Pacific division, warned. Infozine published this on May 26, 2007.

According to Ducklin the best and easiest solutions to be keep oneself safe against the threats posed by unsolicited emails is to "Never try, never buy, never click, and never reply" to such emails.

"This email shows no movie trailer. Instead, this email infects your PC with malicious code. And once your machine is compromised, phishers can easily pilfer the information to carry out identity theft or other cyber crimes". Help Net Security published this on May 25, 2007.

Sophos notes, this isn't for the first-time that scammers and hackers have made use of a Hollywood film for trying and duping Internet users. Earlier also, various viruses had posed as the movie 'Harry Potter' or Julia Roberts' latest 'chick flick'.

"PC users who aren't concerned about the files they execute on their machines may be heading towards stormy water," Sophos' senior technology consultant Graham Cluley said. "If you wish to watch the latest movie, book a ticket for yourself right in the cinema. Avoid clicking on files that come to you from nowhere." Help Net Security published this in news on May 25, 2007.

Sophos recommends companies protect their desktops, servers and gateways with a consolidated solution to thwart the threats of viruses, spyware, phishing, hackers and spam, as well as controlling which applications are authorized to run on the network.

Sophos also recommends firms to safeguard their servers, PCs, and gateways by employing a definite solution for thwarting cyber threats such as viruses, phishing hackers, spyware, etc.

Related article: New Zealand Releases Code To Reduce Spam

» SPAMfighter News - 6/6/2007

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