The Hunter
May 12th, 2004, 04:44 PM
LONDON — A new mass-mailing virus called Wallon, which wipes out Windows Media Player and is activated when a user tries to play MP3 or video files from an infected PC, was discovered in Europe on Tuesday.
Traditionally, mass-mailing viruses such as NetSky and Bagle are spread as attachments. When an unsuspecting user opens the infected attachment, it executes a piece of code that usually attempts to steal the user's address book and often opens a back door to give hackers easy access to the system's resources.
Maikel Albrecht, a product manager at Finnish security company F-Secure, said that because of recent virus outbreaks, users are less willing to open e-mail attachments, which is why Wallon's author is counting on users clicking on an e-mail link instead.
"The link in the e-mail points to the actual virus, so if you click the link, you download the virus," Mr. Albrecht said.
More info here:http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040512.gtwallon0512/BNStory/Technology/
Traditionally, mass-mailing viruses such as NetSky and Bagle are spread as attachments. When an unsuspecting user opens the infected attachment, it executes a piece of code that usually attempts to steal the user's address book and often opens a back door to give hackers easy access to the system's resources.
Maikel Albrecht, a product manager at Finnish security company F-Secure, said that because of recent virus outbreaks, users are less willing to open e-mail attachments, which is why Wallon's author is counting on users clicking on an e-mail link instead.
"The link in the e-mail points to the actual virus, so if you click the link, you download the virus," Mr. Albrecht said.
More info here:http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040512.gtwallon0512/BNStory/Technology/