Security news
Security news10 December 2003
Porn crack? Blaster fix? Microsoft patch? Yaha-Y worm seen in the wild, says Sophos
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| The Yaha-Y worm disguises itself in a variety of emails - including one which offers access to a porn website |
Sophos, a world leader in protecting businesses from virus and spam, has warned of a new worm which uses a number of disguises, including a security patch from Microsoft, a fix for the Blaster worm and a crack for a porn website.
The W32/Yaha-Y worm spreads via network shares and email. Emails sent by the worm are randomly selected from a list contained inside the worm, including the following:
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Subject: Fix for the New Worm Threat
Message text: Dear customer, We are enclosing Fix for W32.Blaster.Z as per your request.
Attached file: Fixblastz.zip
Subject: Critical Updates
Message text: Dear customer, Thanks for using Microsoft products.
Recent viruses have prompted microsoft to issue patches to all its customers
worldwide.
Attached file: MS-Q3526.com
Subject: Crack for Porn sites
Message text: Hi, This is a new crack for porn site. Please download and check program. Bye.
Attached file: porncrack.zip
"In the old days virus writers resorted to naked pictures of female film stars or tennis players with nice legs to convince people to run their code," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "This time they are taking advantage of computer users' security fears - although they couldn't resist including the offer of a smutty website."
Sophos recommends that users ensure their anti-virus software is kept up-to-date to protect against this latest threat, and that patches are in place to secure against operating system vulnerabilities.
"All users should be wary of unsolicited executable email attachments. It is a favourite way for virus writers to spread their unsavoury wares," continued Cluley.
The Yaha-Y worm also attempts to disable any anti-virus software it finds running on the affected computer.
