Saturday, January 29, 2005

The "YOU ARE AN IDIOT" Virus

- If your computer insults you, it has been infected by the new Cisum.A worm

PandaLabs has detected the appearance of Cisum.A,a worm whose most distinguishing characteristic is that it insults the userby displaying the following message on screen

"YOU ARE AN IDIOT"

All the while playing an MP3 audio file that repeats the same phrase.

Cisum.A can only spread automatically across computer networks. If a networkuser runs the file carrying Cisum.A, this worm copies itself under the name ProjectX.exe to the root directory of the shared drives on the computer.

At the same time, it displays a window containing the text: "YOU ARE ANIDIOT," and constantly plays the aforementioned MP3 audio file the worm has previously generated on the system.

Cisum.A also ends the processes belonging to antivirus programs and other IT security applications, leaving the computer vulnerable to attack from other viruses or hackers.

What's more, it creates several entries in the Windows Registry in order to ensure that it is run whenever the computer starts up. Even though no incidents caused by this worm have been registered, PandaSoftware advises users to take precautions with any file they receive or download from the Internet and to update their antivirus software.

PandaSoftware has made the corresponding updates available to its clients todetect and disinfect Cisum.A.