The first harmful program spreading via the popular e-mail "The Bat!" has been detected. Kaspersky Lab, an international data-security software-development company, warns users of the discovery "in the wild" of the first Internet-worm, going by the name of "Stator," utilizing the popular e-mail...
The first harmful program spreading via the popular e-mail "The Bat!" has been detected.
Kaspersky Lab, an international data-security software-development company, warns users of the discovery "in the wild" of the first Internet-worm, going by the name of "Stator," utilizing the popular e-mail client "The Bat!" in order to spread.
Because of advanced functioning facilities, flexible set-up, and affordable price, "The Bat!" has become very popular amongst experienced Internet users in the past few years, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. Until recently, the main advantage of this e-mail program was the absence of any harmful code in its applications.
"In essence, Stator is simply the continuation of the computer underground attacking users, proving the well-known rule that the more popular the application, the more attention virus writers will pay to it," commented Denis Zenkin, Head of Corporate Communications for Kaspersky Lab.
Protection against the "Stator" Internet-worm has already been added to the KasperskyTM Anti-Virus daily database update. Users, especially those using "The Bat!", are highly recommended to download this latest update.
Technical Details
This Internet-worm utilizes the e-mail client "The Bat!" in order to spread. It gains access to the database, searches for the e-mail addresses contained there, and sends out its copy to them in the form of an attachment to an e-mail.
The worm's copy contains the name "photo1.jpg.pif" and contains the photo of an unknown young woman sitting next to a likeness of the well-known MacDonald's restaurant mascot, Ronald MacDonald. The message body is written in Russian in the Cyrillic alphabet.
The translated text appears as follows:
Hello!
Your address was given to me by a common friend of ours (the first address that came to his mind)
I am a newcomer to the Internet and have just got this mailbox!
So this is the very first time I am writing an e-mail!!!
He said that if I had any questions, I could ask you...
I am pretty cute and sociable.
(have a look at the photo)
I'm waiting for a reply from you!!!
Write me a bit about yourself and what you would like to know about me.
Good bye! Good bye!
:)))))))))
Sveta Kovaleva
The worm also installs itself to the system and infects a few files in the system, as well as sends passwords and other confidential information out of the computer.
To hide its activity the worm displays a JPEG image of a girl.
For more technical details, visit the Kaspersky Virus Encyclopedia.
Kaspersky Anti-Virus can be purchased in the Kaspersky Lab online store or from a worldwide network of Kaspersky Anti-Virus distributors and resellers.
Download the FREE time-limited trial version of Kaspersky Anti-Virus here.
Subscribe to Kaspersky Lab' FREE information service here.
