[virusinfo] Ranking of the famous people most often used to spread viruses on the Internet - 6-17-05]
- From: "Mike" <mikebike@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: virusinfo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 17 Jun 2005 08:22:17 -0700
From; Panda Oxygen3 24h-365d wrote:
"See one promontory, one mountain, one sea, one river and see all."
Socrates (BC 469-BC 399); Greek philosopher of Athens.
- Ranking of the famous people most often used
to spread viruses on the Internet -
Oxygen3 24h-365d, by Panda Software (http://www.pandasoftware.com)
Madrid, June 17 2005 - The recent distribution of a new type of malware,
detected by Panda Software as Downloader.DBR, by mass mailing messages to
users around the world and using a spoof story about a suicide attempt by
Michael Jackson, is nothing more than a new episode in social engineering:
exploiting the popularity of certain celebrities to increase the
propagation of this type of threat.
This is not the first time that Michael Jackson has been used as bait to
distribute this kind of threat: last November a mail was distributed
supposedly containing a link to a website from which users could download a
video of Jackson with a child. This video did not exist, but instead a
Trojan was downloaded onto the computer.
Even though it is not usual for such complex coordinated techniques to be
used to install malware on computers, the names of celebrities are
frequently used to distribute mails which either contain malware attached
to the mail itself (often camouflaged as an image), or which contain a URL
where the malware is accessed (as in this case). Trojans in themselves do
not generally have the capacity to propagate (as worms do), and so this
type of strategy is needed for the message to spread.
Top of this particular "celebrity virus ranking" is Britney Spears, who
according to data from PandaLabs, has been the involuntary protagonist of
most attacks over the last years. Attractive female celebrities are often
used for these purposes as the excuse for sending the mail is often to
entice users with the promise of interesting photos. Along these lines,
third and fourth respectively in the ranking come Jennifer López
(unfortunately associated to the famous LoveLetter) and Shakira. Porn stars
are also often used for this purpose.
The second person most frequently used by malware creators to distribute
their works is Microsoft owner, Bill Gates, and fifth in the list is Osama
Bin Laden. The latter has been the subject of e-mails claiming that he has
been hung, or finally caught, and the spread of these messages increased
after the Iraq war.
Other famous people who have been used in this context include Anna
Kournikova, who was the subject of a widespread example of malware bearing
her name, Bill Clinton, Pamela Anderson, and even Alberto Fujimori, the
ex-president of Peru.
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