Wallon virus destroys media players

A new virus is in circulation that can completely wipe out Window Media Players, when users try to play MP3s or video files, as part of a sneaky plan to get inside PC systems through email links instead of attachments.

Users are less likely to open email attachments because of recent virus outbreaks which use the attachments to steal the user's address book as back door into system resources.

So the author of this new virus "Wallon" is hoping that people will be more willing to click on email links instead.

The new virus spreads by encouraging users to click on a link that pretends to direct them to a Yahoo.com news site.

It uses a weakness in Microsoft Internet Explorer. Once the virus is activated, the code collects email addresses from the infected computer and using them to send the link to other potential victims.

Allan Bell, marketing director of the Asia Pacific for Network Associates, said that this particularly virus is not considered to be a huge threat at the moment, such as the Netsky and Bagle viruses. "We have currently issued a very low alert for this email because it is easily stoppable. Once we have found the location of its whereabouts, it can be shut down instantly, so it is not very difficult to trace.

We work very closely with other anti-virus vendors and ISPs to find these viruses and we feel very confident that this one is very controllable. Its aim to re-direct people to a porn site as part of a money making scam, but it is not beyond anything we have dealt with before. It can also be blocked if a user runs a personal firewall on the PC."

Bell also added the worrying thing is that these kind of attacks are increasing all of the time. 29 medium to above average attacks have been recorded so far this year, compared to only 20 attacks recorded for the whole of last year.

There have only been 57 attacks recorded worldwide by the "Wallon" virus, but none have been found in the Asia Pacific yet.

However, it has been stated that the advantage of the link method, used by this virus, is the ability to circumvent corporate security policies that block attachments containing executable files.

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