IM worm installs rogue browser

by admin May 22, 2006 at 11:02 am

Safety last

Security researchers are warning of an instant messenger worm that installs a maliciously constructed browser onto compromised Windows PCs. The self-propagating worm, dubbed yhoo32-explr, installs a so-called “Safety Browser”. Users who install the software are directed to a site that loads spyware onto their PCs.

Yhoo32-explr spreads by sending links to a site that installs the Safety Browser to all an infected surfers’ Yahoo! Messenger contacts. Safety Browser uses the IE icon in a bid to dupe unsuspecting users.

Once installed, Safety Browser hijacks the personal homepage in Internet Explorer and directs it towards the Safety Browser homepage (actually a site loaded with spyware). It also plays looped music that can’t be stopped.

Full story: The Register