New Worm Steals User Data
Mimail variant lifts victim's files, spreads by raiding e-mail address book.

A new Internet worm that steals information from users' computers and tries to shut down two Web sites is spreading, antivirus vendors warn.


The worm, dubbed Mimail.C, is a variant of the W32.Mimail worm that surfaced in August. Antivirus software vendors rate the worm a "medium" level threat, indicating that it is infecting computers and spreading. Among the antivirus vendors weighing in on the threat are Symantec, F-Secure, and Network Associates.

All of the primary antivirus vendors say they have updated their software to protect customers against the newly discovered worm.


Mimail.C's Methods
Mimail.C was discovered Friday, the vendors say in bulletins on their Web sites. It arrives as an e-mail nessage with "our private photos" in the subject line and an attached .zip archive file called "photos.zip."

The sender's address is faked to be "james" at the receiver's domain and the body of the message promises revealing photos of a girl at a beach, the antivirus vendors say.

The worm with its attachment was mass-mailed, which most likely started its propagation, according to an alert from Network Associates.


Opening Activates
Infection starts when the recipient unpacks the "PHOTOS.JPG.EXE" file from the attachment and runs it. The worm will harvest e-mail addresses from the user's PC to mail copies itself to additional recipients. It will also send information captured from applications the user has open to certain e-mail addresses programmed into the malicious code, the antivirus companies say.

The worm will also attempt to launch a denial of service attack on Web sites at darkprofits.com and darkprofits.net, the vendors say. Both sites were unreachable Friday afternoon.

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,113228,00.asp

Also

Sealed with a kiss, new e-mail virus spreading Reuters News Service
SAN FRANCISCO -- A new e-mail virus started spreading to corporate computers Friday and is headed for home computers, but computer security experts said they expect the outbreak to wind down over the weekend.

Antivirus software maker Trend Micro said tens of thousands of its corporate computer users in France and Germany had been hit by the virus, dubbed "Mimail.C".

The e-mail was spreading quickly because it spoofs e-mail addresses in address books, making it appear as if the virus-carrying e-mail comes from a friend or co-worker, said Raimund Genes, European president of Trend Micro.

Trend and Network Associates rated the virus a medium threat, upgrading it from a low-level threat because of the large number of infections being reported within a short time, said Vincent Gullotto, vice president of Network Associates' antivirus response team.

The virus arrives in a compressed file via e-mail with a subject line of "our private photos." The message text says: "All our photos which i've made at the beach ... " and is signed "Kiss, James."

The attack appeared to have been targeting four Web sites with the name "darkprofits," according to Network Associates.


http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory...siness/2195542


Dr_Evil