USATODAY.com - E-mail worm bent only on destruction

USATODAY.com - E-mail worm bent only on destruction: "
Posted 1/30/2006 10:04 PM Updated 1/30/2006 10:29 PM






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E-mail worm bent only on destruction
By Byron Acohido and Jon Swartz, USA TODAY
SEATTLE — A fast-spreading e-mail worm is raising alarms because its sole purpose is to obliterate the everyday working documents widely used by consumers, students and businesses.

The Kama Sutra worm — also referred to as Nyxem.E and Grew.A — is unnerving because, unlike other e-mail worms, it appears to be detached from any profit motive.

It is designed to destroy all Microsoft Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint documents and Adobe Acrobat and Photoshop files on all hard drives connected to an infected PC.

'The amazing part is that there appears to be a lack of any motive behind this except destruction,' says David Mayer, researcher at e-mail security firm IronPort Systems.

The worm appears in e-mail in-boxes with subject lines such as 'hot movie,' 'A Great Video' or 'Crazy illegal Sex!' enticing the recipient to click on an attachment. One variation makes reference to the ancient Sanskrit book on sexual positions."