Avoid Santa Claus Worm While Celebrating Christmas

As Christmas is round the corner, users must beware of some Santa Claus worms which are trying to attack users during this seasonal celebration. Amongst the Santa Claus worms, there is a IM.GiftCom.All which has spread quite commonly in the net. This worm attempts to trick Microsoft MSN and Yahoo Instant-messaging users to click on a file that delivers unwanted software to users’ computer.

This worm was discovered 2 years ago. It attempts to dupe IM users into thinking an acquaintance has sent them a link to a harmless Santa Claus file. Once users click on the file, they will see an image of Santa. At the same time, a so-called rootkid will be installed into their system without their notice. A rootkit is a tool designed to go undetected by the security software used to lock down control of a computer after an initial hack. The malicious attacker can then distribute messages to the user’s IM contacts, using a similar technique to lure the unsuspecting acquaintance to click on the link.

This Santa worm trick is no longer new to many users. Having said that, to avoid unnecessary trouble while celebrating your Christmas, users just need to be extra careful. Users can seek help through this removal tool via the link here in the event your computers are infected.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 17th, 2007 at 10:38 pm and is filed under Security. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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