Virus Alert
- Please Read
A new e-mail virus, referred to as Sober.X, has surfaced. It contains phony warning messages supposedly sent by law enforcement agencies which claim to be tracking illegal Internet activity. In this case, the messages appear to come from a "Steve Allison," an investigator with either the FBI or the CIA, and state that the recipient has visited "more than 30 illegal Websites," presenting him with a "list of questions" he must answer. The whole thing is, of course, a fiction intended to lure the reader into opening the attached .ZIP file so that the worm can spread to his PC.
Sober.X e-mail are sent out with a variety of subject lines:
The FBI has placed
an alert about these messages on their web site. The e-mail appears to be sent
from the e-mail addresses of mail@fbi.gov and admin@fbi.gov. There may be other
similarly styled addresses. The recipient is enticed to open the zip attachment
which contains a w32/sober.jen@mm worm. The attachment does not open and its
goal is to utilize the recipient's computer to garner information. Secondly,
the virus allows the e-mail to be forwarded to all those listed in the recipient's
address book.
Only Microsoft Windows platforms are vulnerable to Sober.X.
If you receive this type of e-mail, please do not click on the links listed in the e-mail and delete the e-mail from your Inbox. A sample e-mail is listed below. If you have any additional questions, please contact Technical Support at (229) 336-7857.
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Sample Sober.X E-mail:
Dear Sir/Madam,
we have logged your IP-address on more than 30 illegal Websites.
Important:
Please answer our questions!
The list of questions are attached.
Yours faithfully,
Steven Allison
++++ Central Intelligence
Agency -CIA-
++++ Office of Public Affairs
++++ Washington, D.C. 20505
++++ phone: (703)
482-0623
++++ 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., US Eastern time