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The HIV Virus Is Now Spreading Through USB Sticks

Malicious worm spreads HIV information

By Bogdan Popa, Security and Search Engines Editor

20th of June 2007, 10:36 GMT

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The W32/LiarVB-A worm is the latest threat to our computers as it is using USB memory sticks to distribute information about AIDS and HIV. Every time a USB stick is connected to an infected computer, the worm automatically copies a hidden

autorun.inf file on the removable drive. Every time the USB stick is plugged in to a clean computer the malicious file installs the worm on the operating system and opens an HTML file with details about the deadly disease. It's recommended to keep your antivirus solution updated with the latest virus definitions to discover the threats.

"Much of the malware we see in SophosLabs is designed to generate income for the hackers. The LiarVB-A worm is different in that respect - it appears that the motive was to spread information about AIDS instead," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Even though the hacker responsible for this worm wasn't set on filling his pockets with cash, and may have felt that he was spreading an important message, they are still breaking the law. In the future we might see more graffiti-style malware being written on behalf of political, religious and other groups looking for a soapbox to broadcast their opinions."

Although it is well-known that the worm is modifying the operating system installed on an affected computer, a message placed at the end of the HTML file sustains that it doesn't harm your computer in any way. The security company Sophos encourages the users to disable the autorun function for all the removable devices connected to the computer and also scan all of them before use. Among the affected devices, we can also mention floppy disks, CD ROMs, USB memory sticks and any other external storage device such as hard drives.

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TAGS:

virus | worm | HIV | USB | stick

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