Web Browser Hijack Worm in Yahoo Instant Messenger
This from eWeek:
“Security researchers have identified a new worm spreading across Yahoo’s instant messaging network that has been cloaked under the guise of a “safety” browser in an attempt to dupe users.
First discovered by anti-malware researchers at FaceTime Communications, the worm, labeled as yhoo32.explr, is forwarding itself throughout Yahoo’s IM system via the contact lists of people whose computers it has already been infected. Once loaded onto a PC, the malicious program automatically hijacks the computer’s existing browser home page and encourages users to visit a fraudulent Web site that attempts to load spyware programs onto their devices.
…”This is the first instance of a complete Web browser hijack without the user’s awareness.”
It’s amazing to me that these worms, viruses (virii?), etc. get more twisted all the time. However, I think that there’s a direct correlation between the sophistication of the user and the entryways that the malicious programs use to get into their machines; for example, I would venture to say that there’s probably not many SEJ readers that actually use IM programs.
