April 1, 2008 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- April Fools' day may be an excuse to pull off the perfect gag, but the perpetrators responsible for the Storm Worm botnet are exploiting the ongoing tradition to unleash a more harmful prank: infecting Windows PCs.
Security firms have warned users today to stay away from April Fools' day-themed emails, which may redirect them to maliciously programmed websites. This latest effort to trick gullible users into getting their PCs infected began yesterday.
A series of spam emails were sent out to recipients in an attempt to dupe them into visiting hacker-controlled websites containing executables with names such as foolsday.exe, Kickme.exe or funny.exe.
The emails contain subject lines like "April Fool's Day" that are accompanied by equally generic images taken from Google Image Search.
The individuals behind the scam have yet to include exploit code, says security firm F-secure, as the emails simply invite unsuspecting users to download the malware, promoted via a spam mail campaign.
In the past, the creators of the Storm Worm have used the holidays and special events to lure people to their malware-infected sites, with the most recent attack occurring within the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day.
