There is a new self propagating worm on the loose that exploits Windows PCs and installs a malware version of a web browser. The so called Safety Browser then forces users to a site to download spyware.
Once installed, Safety Browser hijacks the personal homepage in Internet Explorer and directs it towards the Safety Browser homepage (actually a site loaded with spyware). It also plays looped music that can’t be stopped.Safety Browser itself can’t be simply uninstalled. Compromised PCs will need a good hosing down. IM security firm FaceTime describes the malware as the first instance of malicious code installing a web browser onto infected PCs.
“This is one of oddest and more insidious pieces of malware we have encountered in years,” FaceTime Security Labs senior director of research Tyler Wells said.
This could explain why my IM connections keep dropping. Not sure if this is effecting their networks at this point. The malware is the first documented case of a complete browser install on systems without a user being aware of it. Bad mojo.
[tags]IM Worm, Safety Browser, Malware, Worm, yhoo32-explr[/tags]