Computer Associates International, Inc has raised the threat level for the MyDoom-O worm to high, based on extremely intensive activity levels and exponential growth. Computer users are cautioned to verify any unsolicited e-mails with senders. Infected MyDoom-O e-mails may contain one of the following subject lines:
hello
hi
error
status
test
report
delivery failed
Message could not be delivered
Mail System Error - Returned Mail
Delivery reports about your e-mail
Returned mail: see transcript for details
Returned mail: Data format error
MyDoom-O uniquely uses search engines and Web sites as it seeks to find new targets, and the sheer volume of such traffic effectively causes denial-of-service attacks. CA has received more than 1 000 samples today from enterprise customers on MyDoom-O, which is abusing the following sites with intense search activity:
http://search.lycos.com/
http://www.altavista.com/
http://search.yahoo.com/
http://www.google.com/
"Since MyDoom-O can easily spread from PC to PC, it only takes a small number of uninformed victims to start an avalanche of infections," said Sam Curry, vice-president of eTrust security management at CA. "This underscores the importance of threat awareness and of safe computing practices. We all need to make sure that worms don`t find fertile ground to breed in."
This latest worm is a "blended" or "hybrid" threat, employing many techniques (eg file share and mail worm vectors, "spoofed" e-mail addresses, and backdoor Trojans) to deliver its harmful payload. CA Security Advisor, which quickly researches and responds to global threats via a network of rapid response centres around the world, is recommending that corporate and home users check their security/anti-virus vendor`s sites to keep track of the latest variants and to be careful to update their software at least daily as new virus strains emerge.
CA has released signatures for this and other threats for its award-winning eTrust Antivirus and eTrust EZ Antivirus products. For additional information, please visit: http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/
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Computer Associates International, Inc (NYSE:CA), the world`s largest management software company, delivers software and services across operations, security, storage, lifecycle and service management to optimise the performance, reliability and efficiency of enterprise IT environments. Founded in 1976, CA is headquartered in Islandia, New York, and operates in more than 100 countries. For more information, please visit http://ca.com.