Singing worm abuses victims

By Dan Ilett, Special to ZDNet
02 February 2005 08:19 AM
Tags: cisum, worm, virus, panda, malware, idiot, infect, shout
Not only does the Cisum.A worm pose a security risk, it also taunts those who activate it.

A worm that sings abuse as it infects a PC was discovered late last week by Panda Software, an antivirus firm.

Once the worm, dubbed Cisum.A, infects a computer, it displays the message, "You are an idiot" accompanied by chorus of people singing the words.

"I thought it was ingenious," said Mark Price, technical director for Panda. "It doesn't really do anything different from other viruses, but it shouts 'You're an idiot.' Most of them don't shout at you. That's a new one on me."

The worm travels as an email attachment called Project.exe. When opened, the file copies itself to the Windows registry and disables antivirus programs and firewalls, leaving computers more vulnerable to attack. It also stops variants of competing worms Bagle and Netsky from running. It then sends itself to contacts in the Outlook address book and looks for networked computers to infect.

An MP3 file of the "you are an idiot" chant can be downloaded here.

ZDNet UK's Dan Ilett reported from London. For more coverage from ZDNet UK, click here.

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Talkback 2 comments

    Off track: received a virus n ...Anonymous -- 02/02/05

    Off track: received a virus n email from "Mary" called "Gods Message" accidently opened when deleting a read message. Wiped out inbox. Tried to contact McAfee no success. any one any infi??

    Still offtrack: Restore from b ...Anonymous -- 03/02/05

    Still offtrack: Restore from backup.

    You do make backups don't you?

    If you don't, let me (and all the other industry professionals will join the chorus) advise you to get adequate anti-nasty protection, and implement a rigorous backup regime. You got this advice free - right here...

    Viruses, spyware and other nasty little critters are only a nuisance, not a disaster if you are well prepared.

    Vatican Bank motto: Jesus saves: So should you!

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