Hardcore emails can lead to hard-to-eradicate malware infections, according to IT security and control firm Sophos, which this week issued a warning about a widespread porn spam campaign that attempts to fool computer users into downloading a spyware Trojan horse.
The emails, which contain phrases such as "hot photos from my birthday," purport to link users to adult content online, but in fact the links lead to a website containing Troj/Pushu-A, which attempts to steal information from infected PCs.
According to Sophos, visitors to the linked-to website are encouraged to download what they believe will be a selection of hardcore adult photographs in an archive file. In reality, the file is a malicious executable called xxx.exe or foto.exe.
When investigating one website hosting the malware, experts at SophosLabs also discovered a peculiar photograph of two U.S. comedians, Lewis Black and Dave Attell, which apparently is unrelated to either the spam emails or the malware itself.
"As with all messages offering salacious content, the danger is that some people may be so excited about the prospect of viewing the pictures that they'll click before thinking about what might be in the best interests of their PC's health," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "The comics in the photograph certainly add a strange twist, though it's unlikely anyone will be laughing if their PCs are compromised by downloading Pushu.
"The email spam campaign has been widely distributed, although—thankfully—we haven't received many reports of users infected by the Trojan horse," Cluley continued. "Those that visit the phony adult websites risk throwing open their PCs for 'cybercriminals' to steal information or carry out further online attacks. Thanks to its continued success rate, it seems likely that this type of illicit material will be used to tempt people into infection for some time to come."
Sophos recommends companies automatically update their corporate virus protection and run a consolidated solution to defend against viruses, spyware, and spam.
