Be Careful: E-Mail With Nasty Payloads

Have you received your Trojan-infected e-mail yet today? I don't know what's up, but in the last week I've received dozens of e-mails with a virus infected attachment or a link to a backdoor Trojan horse.
There are three variations and all have one thing in mind -- luring me into getting zapped with a nasty payload.

The first has a link to an authentic-looking CNN alert. Click the link (no, don't! -- I was speaking metaphorically) and you'll land on a malware-hosting site that attempts to download a malicious executable onto your PC. Read Fake CNN Alert Still Spreading Malware for details.

I've also received a smattering of e-mails created by clueless cretins, dopes who haven't taken the time to run a spell checker on their even dopier messages. One tells me my FedEx package hasn't been delivered and asks me to click on the attached zipped Trojan to print the invoice. What caught my eye was the tracking number in the subject line, and I worry that some of you might not pay attention to the message and click the link.

But the most malevolent of the bunch has a "click to watch the video" link that purportedly leads to MSNBC's site, but actually sweeps you to a malware site that insists you need to update Flash in order to watch the video. Too many people probably do need to update their Flash applet, so this fool thing is a real temptation. But click the "adobe_flash.exe" upgrade and you'll get nailed by the EncPk-DA Trojan. You can get a full explanation of the depth and breadth of this exploit in Fake News Bulletin Spreads Malware

Tomorrow: How to protect yourself, plus links to everyone's favorite, free defense tools.

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