New Worm Targets Windows Media Player
A new worm that infects computers when e-mail recipients click on a fake Web site appears to be spreading, some computer security companies said.
The "Wallon" worm spreads in an e-mail message that appears to be a news site from Yahoo Inc., according to Finjan Software Inc., which on Thursday elevated the threat to "medium risk." A link in the e-mail takes users to Web sites not associated with Yahoo, which downloads the worm to the victim's computer.
Other computer security companies, including Symantec Corp. and Network Associates Inc., hadn't raised Wallon's risk rating. A spokeswoman for Finjan said the company has seen an increase in the number of e-mails carrying the worm.
The Wallon worm appears to lay dormant in infected Windows computers until a user attempts to play an audio or video file using the Windows Media Player, Once a user attempts to use the media player, the worm sends itself to the victim's e-mail address list, with the bogus Web link.
Finjan, based in the San Jose, Calif., said users should install the latest patches from Microsoft Corp. and update their antivirus software regularly.
发现攻击Windows媒体播放器的新蠕虫病毒
《华尔街日报》(Wall Street Journal)从一些电脑安全公司处获悉，发现一种新的蠕虫病毒正在传播，当邮件接受者点击邮件中的一个伪装网址，就会令电脑感染此病毒。
据Finjan Software Inc.透露，这种Wallon蠕虫病毒通过电子邮件传播，邮件中含有伪装成雅虎公司(Yahoo Inc., YHOO)新闻网址的链接，收信人一旦点击此链接电脑就会自动连到一个与雅虎无关的网站开始下载病毒。Finjan周四将该种病毒的危害程度上调至中等风险。
包括赛门铁克(Symantec Corp., SYMC)与网络联盟公司(Network Associates Inc., NET)在内的其他电脑安全公司均未上调Wallon病毒的危害等级。
Finjan的发言人称，公司已观测到携带该种病毒的电子邮件数量正在增加。一开始，Wallon蠕虫病毒在受感染的使用Windows操作系统的电脑中一直处于休眠状态，直到用户使用Windows媒体播放器来播放音频或视频文件，该病毒就会被激活，并自动形成夹带伪装链接的电子邮件自动向电脑的电邮地址簿中的地址发送。
Finjan称，用户应当安装微软公司(Microsoft Corp., MSFT)最新发布的补丁，并定期更新杀毒软件。
