Sex movie worm spreads worldwide

A booby-trapped e-mail that promises free sex movies is racking up victims around the world, warn security firms.

Some variants of the Windows worm contain a link to PDF that a recipient has been told to expect.

Those clicking on the link get neither movies nor documents but give the malware access to their entire Outlook address book.

When installed, the worm sends copies of itself to every e-mail address it can find.

The malicious e-mail messages have a subject line saying "Here you have" and contain a weblink that looks like it connects to a PDF document. Instead it actually links to a website hosting the malware.

Once it is installed, the worm tries to delete security software so it remains undetected.

As well as spreading via e-mail, the worm also tries to find victims by looking for open net links from infected PCs and exploiting the Windows Autorun feature on USB drives and other attached media.

Although not widespread, reports suggest that some corporations were hit hard by it. Nasa, AIG, Disney, Procter & Gamble and Wells Fargo were all reported as struggling to contain an outbreak of the worm.

:story: Full story: BBC News