Beware Fake Malware Cleaner Programs

Hello All,
Just wanted to give a heads-up to the latest trend in viruses and malware. Lately hackers have been attempting to gain access to systems by sending out programs that appear to be legitimate anti-virus programs, such as the AV2009 virus that infected the computer on the desk. These viruses have been particularly hard to recognize since they appear to be legitimate programs (the AV2009 virus that infected the computer at the circulation desk made it appear as though it were created by Microsoft and used the XP Security Center logo). Therefore, before downloading any anti-virus software onto the computers please try to verify its legitimacy. Do a google search for the name of the program before installing it. If it cannot be found or only references back to a site created specifically for that program do not run it. Reputable anti-virus software will usually be reviewed on other sites other than their own.

Also, if you receive an e-mail that claims to be an update for an anti-virus program and has that update attached to it do not download it. No reputable company sends out updates through e-mail like this. Never execute a program you receive this way. The latest virus to do this looks like it came from Trend Micro. The virus is called iClean20.exe:

"iClean20.EXE uses a clever trick: It drops 2 files, one of which is the genuine Trend Virus Clean Tool, and the other the malware, detected by Trend as BKDR_POISON.GO. By pointing the user to the actually cleaning tool they may distract them from the malware. BKDR_POISON.GO opens a random port and allows a remote user to execute commands on the affected system."

Be careful when downloading programs or attachments from your email.

Thanks,
James