Virus opens back door for hackers
A VIRUS that opens computers to hackers has begun to spread via e-mail accounts.
The virus, named Bagle.B, is a version of the Bagle virus that appeared last month. Anti-virus experts have warned it is more effective than its parent and spreading rapidly.
Bagle.B arrives in an e-mail with the subject "ID (random numbers) . . . thanks" and has an executable file as an attachment. If opened, the virus infects the computer, sending itself to stored e-mail addresses and opening the Microsoft Windows Sound Recorder in an attempt to disguise what it is doing.
But Computer Associates senior security consultant Daniel Zatz said the most malicious part of the virus was that it installed a Trojan horse program which opened backdoor entry into the computer, allowing hackers to steal or manipulate files.
Mr Zatz said the second version of the Bagle virus had corrected code errors in the first, allowing it to install the backdoor entry reliably.
Bagle.B is programmed to stop spreading next Wednesday and Mr Zatz said computer users should not open unknown e-mail attachments and should use updated anti-virus software.