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The virus, which F-Secure calls Virkel.F, comes as a file called BETA8WEBINSTALL.EXE that can be downloaded from a Web site. Running the program installs not a new MSN Messenger beta, but rather a virus that sends download links to a computer user's MSN Messenger buddies. The virus falsely labels the link as "MSN Messenger 8 Working BETA."
"It also connects your machine to a botnet server," F-Secure warned, meaning that a person's computer can be controlled remotely to attack other machines or send spam.
Malicious software that uses instant messenger programs is growing more common. A November study by Akonix Systems identified 62 examples.
And Microsoft's instant-messenger infrastructure is the most popular conduit for attack, IMlogic said in an October study.
See more CNET content tagged:
MSN Messenger, F-Secure Corp., MSN, virus, Microsoft Corp.







__________________________________
R.K.
http://www.Remove-All-Spyware.com/
makes some folks feel more "high-tech". In other cases, people
want to be the "first" to use some new feature.
This is a case where some scumbag(s) decided it would be "cool" to
use an "MSN Beta" as a trojan horse to deliver a virus, knowing that
people would install it because it's MSN and, for all the bad press it
gets, Microsoft doesn't normally release machine killing code, beta
or not.
When the company I was working for got a chance to beta test 95, we jumped at the chance. I didn't understand why, but then we got a hold of it and when we tried our different products on it, some ran and some did not! I was sure the final version would fair better, but at least with the beta in hand, we got a heads up on possible problems and started preparing for them right away.
Now, as for messenger, people are just curious. They want to see what's new and what's still the same.
I must admit to a certain level or curiosity myself, but I rather wait till it's not only stable, but free again. I heard that invitations to beta test the new messenger were being auctioned off on ebay and as far as I know, microsoft is allowing the auctions to take place.
^.^ Whatever you use its still a computer ^.^
- Is It really true still?
- by Why??? November 4, 2006 3:21 PM PST
- is Msn 0.8 beta still Called a virus now in 2006? is it okay to download?
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