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Viruses Try New Tactics

Mar 17, 2004 6:36AM PST

Bagle/Beagle variants use passwords, images, and atypical payload files to trick victims.

Lincoln Spector, special to PC World
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
A tricky new type of virus is surfacing, taking a twist on the usual trap set by e-mail messages: It appears in attachments that are not typically used for viruses, applies a password to avoid detection, and fools victims into entering the password and becoming infected.

Depending on the antivirus vendor, the name of this latest scourge is either Beagle or Bagle (but not Bagel). Symantec calls this series of viruses W32.Beagle.x@mm, where x designates the variation. The rest of the security vendors seem to prefer the Bagle name, although they disagree on variation letters.

All the major antivirus vendors are updating their definitions to identify the latest versions of the virus. But because this particular pest infects programs and passes through file-sharing networks, it's tough to shake from an infected system. Its cleverly deceptive approach may foretell sneakier viruses to come.

More: http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,115243,tk,dn031704X,00.asp

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