Fake virus warning carries worm
Computer worms have tried all sorts of ploys for tricking users into activating them, but the latest is particularly sneaky--it masquerades as a virus warning from Symantec, a well-known anti-virus firm.
Symantec has confirmed the existence of the worm, known as VBS.Hard.A@mm, VBS/Hard-A, or VBS/Hard@mm, and created software to detect it. So far, the virus has a low geographical distribution and has infected a small number of sites, according to a Symantec report published earlier this week.
The worm distributes itself--like several in the past, including Love Letter Homepage--as an attachment to an e-mail message. The message is called "FW: Symantec Anti-Virus Warning," and claims to contain a description of a non-existent worm in an attached file.
