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Looking for love yields malware

Dawn Kawamoto Former Staff writer, CNET News
Dawn Kawamoto covered enterprise security and financial news relating to technology for CNET News.
Dawn Kawamoto

When getting an e-mail from a young Russian woman called "Victoria Stasova," lonely hearts beware, security experts advise.

A Trojan Horse, Troj/Keylog-HD, will display three pictures of Ms. Stasova, while loading malware on the viewer's computer, security researcher Sophos warned.

And once that malware is loaded onto a lovelorn user's computer, the keylogger can steal sensitive information, such as passwords and bank account information, Sophos notes.

The Ms. Stasova ploy is among one of many attempts malicious attackers have used to hook in users by holding out the prospect of love. The string of broken hearts and compromised computers is long--remember the "I love you" virus?