Worm may be spreading via Skype chat
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(InfoWorld) - Computer security analysts are studying reports of a worm that may be circulating via a feature in Skype's popular VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) service. Security vendor Websense said the worm spreads through Skype's chat feature. Users receive a message asking them to download a file called "sp.exe." The executable is a Trojan horse that can steal passwords. If a user runs the Trojan it triggers another set of code to spread itself. The first infected PCs appeared in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in Korea, Websense reported on its blog on Tuesday. It said it was still investigating the issue. Not all security experts were in agreement, however. F-Secure received a sample of the worm and determined that it did not, in fact, target Skype, said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer. "What's clear is, there's no massive worm outbreak with Skype at the moment," Hypponen said. "We are following the situation." The SANS Internet Storm Center said it was "hearing some details of a new worm spreading via Skype IM" and asked for more information in a posting on its site. Websense said the executable appears to be encrypted with NTKrnl Secure Suite Packer, a polymorphic encryption program that makes files look unique to different detection engines. The original site that hosted the code is not serving it any more, Websense said. Â
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NEW YORK: At least one new variant of a worm spread rapidly from Asia and Europe to US computers on Friday morning, filling up people&#39;s e-mail accounts, but otherwise causing little apparent damage.
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IT security experts have intercepted a previously undocumented Trojan virus with a novel payload that attempts to send spam SMS messages to mobile phones.
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Dial M for Malware The authors of the prolific Warezov worm are targeting users of Skype.â¦
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A vulnerability in Internet Explorer spells potential trouble for Skype users who add or play video in their chats.
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A worm targeting Windows PCs is spreading through the service's instant messenger, making the VoIP's chat software the latest to come under the hacker gun.
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Malware arrives in German spam that claims to contain an update from Microsoft.
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A Trojan horse computer program that uses infected computers to churn out mobile phone spam messages is causing concern among antivirus firms.
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(InfoWorld) - A new variant ofÂ the Stration worm, which has been plaguing Windows users for the past year, has made the jump from Skype to the ICQ and MSN Messenger networks. This latest variant popped up earlier this week, according to Chris Boyd, a researcher at FaceTime Communications, who blogs under the pseudonym "Paperghost." "They're using Skype as a jump off into other more established networks," Boyd said. "The infection will go looking for other instant messaging clients that are on the PC and then attempt to send the infection message that it initially sends through Skype through these other chat systems." For a computer to be infected, a user must first click on a link and then agree to download an executable file. In one sample provided by Boyd, the malicious link is listed below the instant message, "Check this out. Give me your opinion." Once installed, the worm will gradually start to send out messages to the victim's contacts, Boyd said. Instant message worms have spread from network-to-network in the past, but this is the first time Boyd has seen a worm jump from Skype to another network. "It's an odd system to make, because these guys have a foot in the door [in the Skype network]," he said. "You think they'd focus all their energies onto exploiting Skype." Stration is not widespread and is considered to be a low-risk infection, but it has been a tough worm to fight for some security vendors. Over the past year it has morphed into hundreds of variants, and antivirus companies have been having a hard time keeping track of its many iterations. Stration has also been called "Warezov" and "Stratio." Nobody knows who is behind the worm, but the domains that host the malicious code are registered through a Chinese Internet company, Boyd said. Â
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Security experts have spotted the first attempts to create an Internet worm that propagates using instant messages and exploits a recently disclosed flaw in Microsoft software.
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Users will receive free warnings of worms and viruses targeting their chat client.
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A new family of worms which uses an unpatched vulnerability in Internet Explorer is spreading widely across the net.
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Sophisticated computer worm is setting up a botnet that may be hard to beat.
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German police have long expressed interest in having surveillance tools that could crack Skype, but leaked documents seem to indicate that thanks to specially commissioned malware, they do indeed have ways of making your VoIP talk.
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A low-threat Internet worm is attacking Skype users worldwide.
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Password-stealing Trojan horse may--or may not--be targeting popular VoIP feature.
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InfoWorld - A programming error in eBay's Skype communications software could give cybercriminals a new way to sneak their malicious software onto a victim's PC.