Virus Alert: Don't Let The 'Bugbear' Bite

A virus that travels via e-mail and attacks Windows operating systems was first noticed on September 30th and has already infected computers in dozens of countries. The bug has been aptly dubbed Bugbear [1]. It is rated "high risk" for both home and corporate users.

Bugbear arrives as a worm embedded in an attachment to an e-mail. But users don't need to open the attachment to release the worm. Merely opening or previewing the e-mail can allow the bug to infect a system. Among the subject lines reported to date are: "Just a reminder," "News," "Membership Confirmation," "Market Update Report" and "Your Gift."

This virus spreads by e-mailing itself to addresses found on the user's machine or attaching itself to previously sent e-mail messages. It also attempts to disable many types of protection, including antivirus protection. Some reports say that after Bugbear infects a system it sends print requests to all network printers.

If it succeeds in infecting a computer, Bugbear can allow hackers to delete or steal any information stored on the computer's hard drive. It attempts to install a backdoor trojan that can record user keystrokes, including passwords and credit card numbers. It can also enable a hacker to download files onto an infected system, stop processes from operating and run executable files.

Microsoft has issued a patch for the problem, and both McAfee and Symantec have released information about and fixes for the worm. According to the MessageLabs VirusEye [2] chart of the top 10 viruses, which tracks computer infections on a daily basis, the Bugbear worm is attacking more than twice as many systems as the Klez worm, this year's previous greatest threat.