Dr. Dobb's | A Storm Trojan Valentine

A Storm Trojan Valentine

Holidays like Valentine's Day are perfect opportunities to spread trojan malware.

February 14, 2008
URL:http://www.drdobbs.com/security/a-storm-trojan-valentine/206504173

The FBI has issued a warning about Valentine-themed spam containing links to compromised websites containing the Storm payload. This is no surpise, as many malware packages, and Storm in particular, have used fraudulent holiday e-card notifications in the past.

According to security firm Sophos Plc., some of the subject lines of compromised messages are as follows: ""I Like You", "Powerful Love", "Tower of Love", "You Stay In My Heart", "Hugs And Kisses", "Val-ANT-ines", "Just You", "What is Love?", "The Love Train", "My Heart", "You're My Valentine", "Just You", "My Love For You", "Love Rose", "World Love", "You Stay In My Heart", "A Rose To Say...", "I Love You", "Valentine Friends", "Love Rose", "Thinking Of U All Day", "Valentine Invitation", and "Happy Valentine's Day!"

This doesn't mean that Valentine-themed e-mails with other subject lines are safe. The FBI notice warns users not to open any e-mails "from an unknown sender." The sad truth is, however, that even known senders can be sending you malware if their computers have been compromised. Good, up-to-date antivirus software and a suspicious mind are the best defenses against e-mail trojans.