'Jackson suicide' e-mail a virus
2005-06-10 16:47
Paris - A spam e-mail that claims Michael Jackson has made a suicide attempt masks a "Trojan horse" virus which infects computers, a British-headquartered software security firm said on Friday.
The e-mail, written in poor English, says Jackson made a "suicidal aattempt" (sic) at his Neverland Ranch home and invites the recipient to click on a link to see a supposed suicide note that he left, SophosLabs (www.sophos.com) said on its website.
When users click on the link they are taken to a website which secretly installs malicious code onto their PCs.
The user gets a message saying the site is busy, but this is simply a diversionary tactic to download "malware" that gives the virus' creator a backdoor entry into the computer, Sophos said.
Sophos security consultant Carole Theriault said: "The sick minds behind viruses and other malware often exploit celebrity names and news stories in an attempt to infect as many people as possible.
"All computer users should be very careful about clicking on weblinks in unsolicited email or launching unknown attachments."
Users should also update their anti-virus protection, she said.