New email worm targets security hole on Explorer

Anti-virus companies warned of a new computer worm circulating through email that purports to be security software from Microsoft Corporation but actually tries to disable security programs that are already running.

The worm, dubbed ‘Swen’ or ‘Gibe,’ takes advantage of a two-year-old hole in Internet Explorer and affects systems that have not installed a patch for that security hole, according to Internet security company Network Associates Inc. The program arrives as an attachment to an email pretending to contain a patch for holes in Internet Explorer, Outlook and Outlook Express and then mails itself off to addresses located on the victim’s computer. The worm can also spread over Internet relay chat and the KaZaa peer-to-peer network, as well as copy itself over shared networks, Network Associates said. When it infects a computer it alerts a website that appears to be counting the infections. Network Associates rated the worm a low risk for corporate medium risk for home users. Symantec, among others, were offering anti-virus updates that detects and removes the worm.