Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global network of virus and
spam analysis centres, have warned users to be on their guard
against a worm which can disguise itself as a screensaver featuring
two female stars of professional wrestling.
The W32/Elitper-D worm
spreads via email pretending to be a bug fix for Microsoft Windows
XP SP2. However, when it attempts to spread via file-sharing
systems and internet relay chat it disguises itself as a
screensaver of WWE divas Torrie Wilson and Sable. The two blonde
stars of professional wrestling are known to WWE devotees around
the world, and have graced the pages of Playboy magazine.
The W32/Elitper-D worm makes changes to the security settings of
infected computers, and blocks access to various websites,
potentially leaving the PC open to further attack.
"WWE is phenomenally popular amongst many young people, but a
mystery to the rest of us," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos. "Anyone who visits file-sharing
systems and chatrooms looking for material related to their idols
should exercise care about what they download. This isn't the first
time that virus writers have used celebrities as bait, and sadly it
won't be the last time that innocent users fall for the trick."
Sable, an ex-Guess Jeans model whose real name is Rena Mero, and
Torrie Wilson have inspired tens of thousands of internet websites,
many with extensive image galleries and movie clips.
Although there have been very few reports of the worm, Sophos
recommends computer users ensure their anti-virus software is
up-to-date, and that companies protect themselves with a consolidated solution which can defend them from
the threats of both spam and viruses.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.