Malware disguising itself as IE 7 beta download

Saturday, 31 March 2007

Malware disguising itself as IE 7 beta download: If you receive an e-mail offering a download of Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2, delete it. A new virus is making the rounds that comes disguised as a test version of Microsoft Corp.'s current Web browser. Security experts reported no widespread damage Friday morning, but they said the virus is notable for a couple of reasons. The e-mail includes a convincing graphic that looks like it could really be from Microsoft, and the virus is delivered when recipients click on a link rather than in an attachment, which makes it harder to stop it from reaching in-boxes. "The idea of sending a link seems to be a trend among attackers; it's still fairly new and it works much better than sending a file," said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure Corp. The e-mails carry the subject line "Internet Explorer 7 Downloads" and appear to come from This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it They include a blue, Microsoft-style graphic offering a download of IE 7 beta 2. Clicking the graphic will download an executable file called IE 7.exe. The file is actually a new virus called Virus.Win32.Grum.A, and security experts were still analyzing it Friday to see what it does. Sophos PLC said it can spread by e-mailing itself to contacts in a user's address book. The virus tampers with registry files to ensure it gets installed, and it tries to download additional files from the Internet, said Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant for Sophos. Other specifics were unknown yet, but such viruses often install a keystroke logger to steal personal information, and establish a network of infected computers to launch a denial of service attack, Cluley said. "We don't know anything yet about where it is coming from," Hypponen said. "It's fairly well made and hard to analyze with normal tools." F-Secure had received many reports of the e-mail but few submissions of the virus itself, indicating that damage so far is limited. Cluely agreed: "I wouldn't classify this as one of the biggest viruses of the year, but that doesn't mean it isn't a threat" he said. Source: Computer World

 

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