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New Worm Starts Munching MSN Users

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the day-zero-install-windows-learn-spanish dept.

Kosmik writes "It appears that MSN has been struck by a vindictive new worm, according to security company Panda Software. The worm, acting in the vein of movies like the Ring and FearDotCom, delivers a fateful terror message and then proceeds to disable most of your protection software like anti-virus,firewalls and even your Windows control apps (TaskManager, Regedit). It distributes itself to all your MSN contacts by sending a video called 'Fantasma.'"

3 of 168 comments (clear)

  1. Bonus points for character by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I don't much approve of destructive viri, but if they're going to be out there, they might as well have a little character to them. Who needs yet another boring old "spams your adress book and erases your HD" routine when you can be 0wned by something just a bit more interesting?

    Reminds me of the good old days of "gimme a cookie."

    --
    Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
  2. Doesn't make worms less annoying by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Someone I met online recently sent me this message:

    "I got my MSN names from http://www.im-names.com/ they're free!"

    After getting this person to clarify that it was sent automatically. I said "OK, that's spyware." They said "I don't care." They are now blocked.

    Gaim and some common sense means I'll never actually get the spyware, but it doesn't mean I won't get annoyed by it. After all, remember chain mail? I used to get chain IMs all the time -- "Send this to 25 friends by midnight and something good will happen!".

    Really, the only solution, no matter what your IM client, is to start blocking morons.

    --
    Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
  3. Re:What are you talking about? by mpe · · Score: 3, Interesting

    First, fix the OS. Make sure users know what is software and what is data, then restrict all of it by default.

    Also so that the OS knows what is software and what is data. e.g. if an executable has been disguised as an AVI then the best thing to do is try (and probably fail) to play it as an AVI. As opposed to displaying a file with an icon indicating it is one type of file then when it is selected to be opened looking at whatever is actually in the file to decide how to open it.
    Effectivly Windows likes to play "bait and switch" with file types.