Sophos warns of latest threat and rounds up celebrity virus
'dirty dozen'
Sophos, a world leader in corporate anti-virus protection, is
warning computer users against the new Shakira Pics email worm
(VBS/VBSWG-AQ)
which is spreading in the wild.
"This is the second time Colombian hip-shaker Shakira has
inspired a virus writer," said Graham Cluley, senior technology
consultant at Sophos. "The popularity of pop stars and other
celebrities makes them a key psychological aid in virus writers'
attempts to persuade innocent computer users to open unsolicited
emails."
The new worm arrives in an email with the subject "Shakira pics"
and an attachment named "ShakiraPics.jpg.vbs". If the recipient
runs this attachment, the worm forwards itself to everyone listed
in the victim's Microsoft Outlook address book. It also spreads via
Internet Relay Chat (IRC). After spreading, the worm displays the
message "You have been infected by the ShakiraPics Worm".
Shakira is the latest celebrity to be the subject of a virus.
The promise of glimpses of pin ups like Anna Kournikova, Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears have
previously been used to help viruses spread. However, virus
inspiration has come from several other less glamorous fields.
Political leaders such as Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan,
Bill Clinton, George
W Bush and PW Botha join cartoon characters including Pikachu and Kyle from South Park. Even
Bill Gates has
been used as the psychological trick to dupe users into opening
infected files.
The message to computer users remains simple - practise safe computing and resist the
temptation to open unsolicited emails simply because they feature a
familiar name. Blocking double extensions at the email gateway or
desktop will negate the threat of viruses such as the Shakira Pics
worm.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.