A worm which can spread exploiting the names of celebrities such
as actress Halle Berry, popstar Kylie Minogue and chanteuse Celine
Dion has created confusion for some users in recent days.
Sophos has recorded an increased number of users searching its
website for information about the "Lorraine" or "W32/Lorraine"
virus - however, there is no virus known by this name.
The reason for the confusion? The W32/Mapson-A worm spreads
via email and P2P internet file-sharing systems claiming variously
to contain pictures of nude female celebrities, trailers of "The
Matrix", or information about the reality TV show "Big
Brother".
Although graphic images themselves cannot contain viruses, the
dangerous files downloaded from the internet file-sharing systems
have double extensions, hiding their true identity as executable
files. For instance,
Nude Pic Britney Spears.gif          .exe
In July the worm is programmed to display a message box
describing itself as the "Lorraine Worm". On the fourth of any
month it goes further and displays the message:
W32/Lorraine - Gedzac Labs 2003
//***********[GEDZAC LABS 2003]***********//
W32/Lorraine by Falckon/GEDZAC
wOrm hecho en Delphi 6 Dedicado a mi Lorena
Hecho en MéXiKO
Because of this some affected computer users have mistakenly
thought the virus's name is W32/Lorraine.
"The message is simple: try and curb your desires. Whether
you're desperate to hear what's going on in the Big Brother house,
peek at Shakira in her bikini or view the latest blockbuster
trailer it's probably best if you resist the temptation," said
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos Anti-Virus.
"Practise safe computing to help keep your systems virus-free and
ensure your anti-virus is always up-to-date."
The worm has caused few problems for Sophos customers, who have
had anti-virus protection available against W32/Mapson-A available
since 9 June 2003.
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.