E-Card Holiday Virus Packs Ugly Punch

E-Card Holiday Virus Packs Ugly Punch

A new virus strain masquerading as electronic Christmas cards is accounting for one in every 10 e-mails hitting in-boxes, security experts warned Wednesday.

The worm, which poses as a Christmas greeting, has the ability to replicate in as many as 19 languages, which makes it a "very serious threat" to computer users worldwide, said Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at Sophos Inc. The worm arrives with the subject line "Merry Christmas," "Buon Natale!" or "Joyeux Noel!," depending on the location of the recipient.

The body of the e-mail contains a "Happy Hollydays" greeting in green text with a yellow emoticon. The virus arrives as an attachment with the following extensions: ZIP, CMD, PIF, BAT or COM.

"This one is spreading far and wide because it uses multiple languages. The worm has been programmed to change its disguise and communicate in the language of the target. That makes it a bigger threat," Cluley said. (EWeek.com)