Experts at Sophos have warned computer users of a new worm, which is disseminating using USB keys in a reversion to the earliest techniques of virus dissemination.
SillyFD-AA deploys itself onto machines and places a message in IE reading ‘Hacked by 1BYTE’. It also deploys an autorun.inf on any removable drives, like USB sticks or floppy discs.
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, was quoted as saying;
USB keys are getting so cheap that marketing people are all set to utilize them as ‘throwaways’ so as to securing sales leads. Computer owners should tread very carefully when plugging an unknown device into their PC, however, as it could have malicious code planted on it. With a significant rise in financially motivated malware it could be an obvious backdoor into a company for criminals bent on targeting a specific business with malicious code.
Immediately after its being linked to another PC, the worm automatically deploys itself on the latest PC and does again the exercise with a view to spreading further. The experts advised the users to close down the Autorun functionality in Windows. The method imitates the very first techniques of virus dissemination while viruses were distributed only using floppy discs. Virus security then was simple; users just had to cover up the indented tab on a 5.25in floppy with sultry tape, the ostensible virus condom.
