Poorly Spelled Spam Contains MJ Worm

AFP reports computer security company Sophos issued a warning stating an e-mail bearing the somewhat misspelled subject header “Rememebring Michael Jackson” and promising secret songs and photos actually contains a computer worm in the attachment that not only replicates itself but is capable of spreading to USB memory sticks.

The solution? Don’t click on the attachment. Of course, it’s never a good idea to open attachments sent from unknown sources. You should also update your anti-virus software.

The computer worm is the latest Internet nasty masquerading as a Jackson-related communiqué. One mass e-mail message promised a YouTube video depicting “the last work of Michael Jackson,” but instead delivered a password-stealing virus.

Evil computer code riding on the backs of celebrity names isn’t all that new. Even before his death, Jackson’s name was often used to entice recipients to click on harmful attachments.

And there’s more where that came from. Internet scammers began capitalizing on the moonwalker’s death mere minutes after the first news announcements, sending infected e-mails as well as messages directing recipients to virus-laden Web sites.

Then there’s the virus attacking all media outlets instructing editors to cover nothing but Michael Jackson news until further notice. So far, no one is predicting a quick fix for that one.

Click here for the AFP article.