Internet Changes Everything

New Netsky.B Worm Spreading on Internet

Yahoo! News - New Netsky.B Worm Spreading on Internet

Wed Feb 18, 2:44 PM ETAdd Technology - Reuters Internet Report to My Yahoo!

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A new worm called "Netsky.B" emerged on the Internet on Wednesday, spreading by mimicking familiar e-mail addresses and enticing users to open file attachments containing malicious software, security experts said.

Most computer security companies rated the worm a medium-grade threat, describing it more of an annoyance rather than a malicious virus that destroys files or makes computer vulnerable to attacks.

"It's a very low infection rate virus," said David Perry, global education director at Trend Micro Inc. (NasdaqNM:TMIC - news) (4704.T), adding that newer, more infectious versions could be in the pipeline.

The worm, once activated, forwards itself to e-mail addresses found on an infected computer's hard drive.

Netsky.B usually arrives in e-mail boxes appearing as e-mail from a familiar person with an attachment that appears to be a Microsoft Word document with the words "read it immediately" or "something for you" making it tricky to identify.

Anti-virus software and services provider Network Associates Inc. (NYSE:NET - news) said the worm's activity appeared to be concentrated in Europe, particularly the Netherlands.

Both businesses and consumers were being hit by the fast-spreading worm.

February 18, 2004 at 11:38 PM in Virus | Permalink | TrackBack (16) | Top of page | Blog Home