Bagle computer virus unleashed (email)

Ananova ^ | 1/19/2004 | Ananova

[lelio]

Bagle computer virus unleashed

Computer users are being warned about a new virus which has spread at "an alarming rate".

Internet security firm MessageLabs says it has detected more than 70,000 copies of the W32/Bagle-mm virus in the past 24 hours.

The computer virus, or worm, is contained in infected emails as an attachment.

The aim of the worm is to spread further by looking for new email addresses in the infected computer, such as in the user's list of contacts.

Experts at MessageLabs say it appears the worm is also programmed to send details about all infected computers to website addresses in Germany, though the sites do not yet appear to be up and running.

Paul Wood, chief information security analyst at the firm, said: "We have seen over 73,000 copies of Bagle, and this number is rising at an alarming rate."

Infected emails include a file attachment ending .exe and the word "hi" in the subject line. The message contains the word "test" followed by the symbol =).

Analysis shows the worm has a cut-off date of January 28, a ploy used by hackers in the past to avoid detection. The advice to users is to ensure they update their anti-virus software on a regular basis.

[dfwgator]

The advice to users is to ensure they update their anti-virus software on a regular basis.

Are there really still people who are too stupid that they open attachments from people they don't know?

[netmilsmom]

I just got another e-mail from "No Child Left Behind" that was strange.
It said "Test" has random letters, then "yes test". It had an attachment and I deleted it.
Was that it?

[netmilsmom]

Some of the worms are FROM people you know because the worm goes into your mailbox and sends to all there. MSN had that problem a while back.

[RandallFlagg]

One of the benefits of being a hermit -nobody who knows me would email me; they'd call.

[lelio]

Yes, Test is one of the keywords:

Bagle.A is a worm that is designed to spread rapidly via e-mail. The e- mail carrying this malicious code has the subject: Hi, and the message body contains the following text:

Test =),
(a series of random characters).
--
Test, yep.

[ShadowAce]

Ahhh--Another virus I'm immune to.

[netmilsmom]

WOW!
That came from a .gov address.
Do you think I should post a vanity about it? I think many of us could be on their e-mail list.

[VOA]

bump

[Snowy]

Symantec has a listing of a virus named "Beagle". Is that it?

[lelio]

That came from a .gov address.

I would look at the headers to make sure it came from a .gov computer: look for the last "Received-By" line and look for an IP address and see if that's a government one.

This is because some viruses fake the From: address. Maybe the person that sent you the original one had that .gov address.

If there's a mailing list for the "No Child Left Behind" list I would see if anyone else has reported an email coming from them.

[js1138]

I guess I'll have to pay Norton their protection money to get the latest updated.

[Snowy]

I guess I'll have to pay Norton their protection money to get the latest updated.

I don't think you do. you can download the updates for free.

[lelio]

It could be, I heard it pronounced the local news as "beagle." Personally I like the odd spelling of "bagle" as it makes googling for it easier.

Why do viruses have set expiration dates? I can't understand why a virus writer would put that in their code.

[js1138]

I don't think you do. you can download the updates for free.

Sorry, but it cost $10-$15 a year for a subscription.

[Dubh_Ghlase]

Go download AVG for free. Works great and I have heard from people who say it's better than Norton!

[Leroy S. Mort]

Symantec has a listing of a virus named "Beagle". Is that it?

Yes.

Norton/Symantec provided protection in a live update yesterday - January 18th.

[Dubh_Ghlase]

Sorry, look for AVG free download Here!

[zeugma]

LoL... my thoughts exactly. Got my wife dual-booting this past weekend. She'll be virus-free and microsoft-free soon.

[abbi_normal_2]

That's what I heard too, I was using AVG myself. Got a bug anyway and now my whole home network is on the fritz. Even the operating system got fried. Back to Norton once we get this mess fixed.