Computer Associates International, Inc. (CA) today advised of a new computer virus that uses the September 11 terrorist attacks to induce unsuspecting users to open an email attachment and trigger the virus. CA is classifying this mass mailer virus as medium- to high-risk because of its strong social engineering techniques, which will enhance the likelihood of its being propagated via Microsoft Outlook and spreading its destructive payload.
The email carrying the virus has certain characteristics that make it easy to recognise:
Email Subject: "Fwd: Peace BeTweeN AmeriCa And IsLaM!"
Email Body: Hi iS iT A waR Against AmeriCa Or IsLaM !? Let`s Vote To Live in Peace!
Attachment: WTC.exe.
The virus payload consists of dropping two Visual Basic Script files and registry modifications so that the scripts will run on Windows startup. The first script attempts to overwrite HTML/HTM files on local and network drives with the text string "AmeRiCa . . . Few Days WiLL Show You What We Can Do!!! It`s Our Turn." The second script makes modifications to the autoexec.bat file, so that if the user reboots, all files in the Windows directory will be deleted and the C: drive reformatted.
CA`s eTrust global antivirus researchers have released a new signature for its award winning antivirus solutions - eTrust InoculateIT, eTrust Antivirus and eTrust EZ Antivirus. Additional information is available at http://ca.com/virusinfo.
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Computer Associates International, Inc. (NYSE: CA) delivers The Software That Manages eBusiness. CA`s world-class solutions address all aspects of eBusiness process management, information management, and infrastructure management in six focus areas: enterprise management, security, storage, eBusiness transformation and integration, portal and knowledge management, and predictive analysis and visualisation. Founded in 1976, CA serves organisations in more than 100 countries, including 99 percent of the Fortune 500 companies. For more information, visit http://ca.com.
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