Just wanted to let you all know that a new e-mail worm has been flooding the net.
It's titled the MyDoom worm and works in a similar manner to the SoBig worm that spread a little while back.
Here's how it works and what to watch out for:
"MyDoom, which affects only Windows-using PCs, arrives in unsuspecting e-mail inboxes with a one of a few random subject lines such as "Test" or "Status" or "Message Undeliverable."
The body of the message also contains an attachment â€" typically a small, 22 KB file disguised as a program file or a screensaver â€" along a short message such as "Mail transaction failed. Partial message is available," or "The message cannot be represented in 7-bit ASCII encoding and has been sent as a binary attachment."
The message, which also contains a faked or "spoofed" address in the "sender's" field, tricks people into believing that the e-mail is an automated response to a previous e-mail, says Vincent Gulloto, vice president of Network Associates' Anti-Virus Emergency Response Center, or AVERT.
But if recipients click on or open the infected attachment, the virus scans the PC for valid e-mail addresses. Variations of these individual addresses are then used in the "from" field for new bogus e-mails that are generated and then sent out using the infected PC's connection to the Internet."
Go here to read the full article: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/SciTech/US/mydoom_virus_040126-1.html
I have already seen this in my e-mail inbox yesterday & today so take care not to get it!
Post Edited (01-26-04 21:43)