A Hacker’s Christmas Gift

Posted by Ken

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In the spirit of gift-giving this time of year, hackers are in full bloom. One in particular wants to send you a Christmas greeting in the form of a Trojan horse called “MerryX.A”. Actually, this little gift comes in the form of an animated electronic card, so while you’re viewing it the package is installed on your computer behind the scenes. The software, once installed, sends a message back to the mother ship (a remote server) and tries to download other files.

Recently, another virus was making the rounds in the instant messaging world. This one, called “IM.GiftCom.All”, was a worm that would seek out the contact information found in your IM application and send them a little “present”. Your friends would receive a link to visit a Web site, thus infecting them. And the process would continue.

The moral of the story: during this time of year it’s common to receive such seasonal greetings. Just be sure you take a little extra precaution before downloading a file that has been sent or an invitation to visit a Web site. One of my friends sent me an e-mail earlier this month. It didn’t have the same “feel” as other messages from her, so I e-mailed her back asking if she sent the message just to be sure. Turns out, she did send it, but it just goes to show you that even the most innocent attempts of sending something can be deceiving.