Warning over Windows football virus
5 May 2005
A new virus posing as a message from the football governing body Fifa has snared a number of fans.
The bug, a new variant of the Sober worm, sends messages to web users claiming that they have won tickets to the 2006 World Cup tournament.
Security experts claim the latest strain is causing havoc across Europe and security firm Sophos estimates that four in five virus reports are due to the Sober variant.
"One in every 22 emails sent across the internet is currently infected by the Sober-N worm - making this one of the biggest virus outbreaks of the year," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "All internet users must secure their systems with up-to-date anti-virus software and ensure that they never open unsolicited email attachments. No-one should be fooled into thinking that email viruses are a thing of the past."
He added: "Many people found the prospect of free tickets to the prestigious sporting event just too hard to resist."
Fifa has issued a warning about the worm, advising people that it does not send attachments in its confirmation emails and the Ticket@fifa.de and Gewinn@fifa.de addresses are indicative of the virus.
The virus coincided with mail sent by Fifa telling fans about tickets. The new variant of the Sober Windows worm surfaced on May 2nd and the attachments on infected messages hold the virus code.
Other messages sent by the bug contain fake warnings about passwords and messages not being delivered. The virus is bilingual and sends messages in both English and German.
Web users are advised to update their anti-virus software and not open any unexpected emails or attachments. The new Sober worm variant affects computers running Windows 2000, 95, 98, Me, NT, Server 2003 and XP.
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