Hackers Spam 'Happy New Year' Worm

Vikingod · Dec 30, 2006, 07:31 PM

Source: InformationWeek
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A rootkit-cloaked worm is being heavily spammed to users as an attachment to "Happy New Year!" messages, a security researcher warned Friday.

The new worm, dubbed "Tibs" by Kaspersky Lab but pegged as a "Nuwar" variant by Trend Micro, comes disguised as a file attachment named "postcard.exe," said Ken Dunham, director of VeriSign iDefense's rapid response team, in an e-mail. Users who launch the executable will infect their PCs.

With antivirus signature updates still thin and over 160 servers spamming the new worm, the threat is significant, added Dunham. "The period of greatest risk is through the New Year's holiday, when antivirus protection is the lowest for this new threat and users are most apt to click on a 'New Year's' related message," he said. "Everyone should be on guard for e-mails and other content potentially harboring malicious code during the holiday period."

Dec 30, 2006, 07:31 PM	#1
Vikingod Int'l Fish Liaison Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: By the light of lamp I sit and type... Posts: 16,187 Rep Power: 109 System Specs	Hackers Spam 'Happy New Year' Worm Source: InformationWeek __________ A rootkit-cloaked worm is being heavily spammed to users as an attachment to "Happy New Year!" messages, a security researcher warned Friday. The new worm, dubbed "Tibs" by Kaspersky Lab but pegged as a "Nuwar" variant by Trend Micro, comes disguised as a file attachment named "postcard.exe," said Ken Dunham, director of VeriSign iDefense's rapid response team, in an e-mail. Users who launch the executable will infect their PCs. With antivirus signature updates still thin and over 160 servers spamming the new worm, the threat is significant, added Dunham. "The period of greatest risk is through the New Year's holiday, when antivirus protection is the lowest for this new threat and users are most apt to click on a 'New Year's' related message," he said. "Everyone should be on guard for e-mails and other content potentially harboring malicious code during the holiday period." __________________ *How You Can Help DriverHeaven By Using Digg*