New MSN virus... Just thought I'd post this before you all be silly and download the attachment...: The Chod.B worm is now spreading over Microsoft's instant-messaging service, after first being observed spreading over email systems last week Email worm graduates to IM The Chod.B worm is now spreading over Microsoft's instant-messaging service, after first being observed spreading over email systems last week A worm that first disguised itself as an email from computer vendors now attempts to trick MSN Messenger users into executing malicious files. The Chod.B worm, which was first discovered on April Fool's day, spreads via email purportedly from Microsoft, or security vendors Symantec and Trend Micro. When using MSN Messenger as its propagation tool, the virus sends out messages to contacts from the infected user's address book, warning them that they are about to receive a file. The virus then sends a file designed to infect the recipient. Trend Micros senior systems engineer Adam Biviano said the development is 'alarming' because it mimics the behaviour of a real IM user. "The virus will send you a message first saying 'check out what I just found on the Internet', and then send you [the malicious] file. It is not just sending files out of the blue anymore — it is trying to imitate what a friend in your contact list would do," said Biviano. Chod.B also contains a tool that allows it to steal passwords from a number of IM applications — including AOL, ICQ Lite, Miranda, MSN Messenger, Trillian, and Yahoo Messenger. Biviano said that because the virus author has also included a way to communicate with the virus, it could mean that in the future the same virus could be instructed to infect more than just MSN Messenger users.
