There's some ingenious virus-laden e-mail spam making the rounds right now.
The latest warns that if you use various illicit BitTorrent freebie sites -- your usage is being tracked. BitTorrent porn super users might be more likely than others to be sucked into opening a virus-filled attachment in the e-mail that purports to detail the violations.
The e-mail looks like it comes from Los Angeles-based MediaDefender – Hollywood's hired guns that ferret out online privacy. The e-mail isn't from MediaDefender and is sent out at random, victimizing the unsuspecting.
It has been getting a lot of people's attention because millions of people use BitTorrent trackers that point the way to free music, movies, software, games and more. Systems affected: Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP.
The e-mail warns:
"We have attached a report about the copyrighted movies, music, software you
downloaded or searched on these web pages. We strongly advise you to stop any
future activities regarding the downloading of illegal content or you can
expect prosecution by 17 U.S.C. §§ 512, 1201?1205, 1301?1332; 28 U.S.C. §
4001 laws."
Regarding that virus, Threat Level's friend, the always clued in Ernesto at TorrentFreak, informs that it's the pesky mytob worm (W32.Mytob@mm) that installs a trojan, and allows outsiders to gain access to your computer.
Photo allspice1
See Also:
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- Black Hat: DNS Flaw Much Worse Than Previously Reported
- Ameritrade Hack Settlement: $2 Per Victim, $1.8 Million for Lawyers
- Spammers Capitalize On Barack Obama's Celebrity Status
- Judge Scuttles Ameritrade Hacking Settlement
- Beset By Smears, Obama Launches His Own Personal Snopes.com
- Online Campaign 2008: A Phishing Bonanza?
- Details of DNS Flaw Leaked; Exploit Expected by End of Today
- Zombie Computer Army Targets Bank Account Passwords
- Citibank Hack Blamed for Alleged ATM Crime Spree
- Homeland Security Website Hacked by Phishers? 15 Signs Say Yes ...
- DDoS Attacker Pleads Guilty, Agrees to Two Years' Prison
