Hybrid worm is the future
A new worm that hit users this week is a perfect example of the future of malicious code, said Panda Software Friday. And that future looks ominous.
The worm, dubbed "Eyeveg.d" by Panda (but Bugbear.b by Sophos, Lanieca.b by Symantec) is a sophisticated hybrid that spreads like a worm but conducts Trojan-style actions against the compromised computer.
Eyeveg.d infects a PC using an .exe file, a typical tactic of worms, and spreads itself to other machines by hijacking e-mail addresses and mailing itself to others.
The second, Trojan horse, component kicks in next, as Eyeveg.d loads a .dll file as a plug-in to the Internet Explorer browser. The .dll, essentially a keylogger, captures keystrokes whenever the computer's user sends data to an SSL server, such as those used by banking and e-commerce sites.
