Virus experts at security firm Sophos have discovered a mass-mailing worm which offers an unusual Happy New Year message in the form of a photograph of naked bodies.
The W32/Wurmark-D worm (Wurmark-D) travels as an attachment via email. The emails pretend to be a seasonal greeting and say that an amusing file is attached. When the attached virus is launched the worm displays a graphic image of nude men and women contorting to form the words "HAPPY NEW YEAR", however the malicious worm is secretly installing itself behind the scenes and forwarding itself to other computer users.
"Once activated this worm will harvest your computer hunting for other email addresses to send itself to, and try and turn off anti-virus software," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "Anyone who forgets to exercise caution before running this unsolicited email attachment could be in for a rude awakening."
As usual, there are a whole heap of subject lines and body messages to watch out for. However, the bottom line is anyone who opens an attachment without good reason is asking for trouble.
