Fake MS Messenger 8 beta and other IM warnings…
F-Secure is warning about ads for a “leaked version” of Windows Messenger 8 beta. There is no public beta of this and it is a virus….
If you download and run BETA8WEBINSTALL.EXE from that site, you won’t get a new chat client. Instead, your existing MSN Messenger will start to send download links to everyone in your contact list. It also connects your machine to a botnet server.
They’re calling it Virkel.F – the site reads as follows… (http://msgrbeta8.com) “Messenger 8 BETA has been leaked! So, being the generous person I am, I’ve posted it here for you to download.” It goes on to detail new features and fillany “Click here to download MSN Messenger 8 Working BETA” The download file is called BETA8WEBINSTALL.EXE On install it will message all your IM contacts with links to download….
There’s also an Incidents.org warning about a possible IM attack. The attack seems to be popup messages in the IM that try to get the user to click on a link to MyPictures in actuality it installs SDBOT. They end with the warning to NOT click on LINKS in IM chats/popups/etc. Even if you think you trust the sender (as evidenced by the above “will send links to your IM contacts” malware…)