Bagle blitz hits millions

Security software company Sophos has warned that a hacker is spamming multiple new versions of the BagleDL-U virus to millions of e-mail addresses around the world.

Sophos said the attacks had been spreading since the beginning of the week, and that the e-mail Trojan attempts to turn off anti-virus and security software on users’ machines.

Once the Trojan has successfully infected a machine, the attackers can gain access and take control of the PC.

The latest malicious messages come with a blank subject line and with “new price” contained in the body message text. The Trojan is spread by the user opening a malicious attachment with a name such as "09_price.zip", "price_new.zip" or "price2.zip".

Carole Theriault, Sophos senior security consultant, said, “Businesses should consider blocking all executable code from entering their networks via e-mail. Most companies have no need to receive computer programs via this route, and it dramatically reduces the risk of infection.”