Anti-virus software vendors warn that the latest variant of the pervasive Netsky worm is poised to launch an assault during the Easter weekend.
The Netsky.Q worm, which was first spotted on Sunday, is programmed to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against file-sharing Web sites from today.
"Netsky.Q is set to launch attacks throughout the Easter weekend, starting just after midnight last night," says Brett Myroff, CEO of local Sophos distributor Netxactics.
Myroff says the virus situation appears to be getting out of hand. "My concern is that virus writers may just be testing the water - to see how quickly and how far the viruses can spread, and how quickly companies update their anti-virus. Some 'bright spark` criminal may then use this information for financial gain."
The worm is currently among the 10 most prevalent worms in the wild. It is designed to attack file-sharing sites, including KaZaA, cracks.st, cracks.am, emule-project.net and edonkey2000.com.
The owners of the eMule Web site have advised users in a statement on their Web site that www.emule-project.net will be unavailable "because of the upcoming DDoS Attack against our servers" and suggest a mirrored version of the site be used instead.
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