I write today on behalf of Bob McArdle, who just discovered a new twist in the Storm Trojan distribution email:

There is a new wave of the now infamous Storm Worm doing the rounds. This time the mail attempts to convince users to download a program that is currently undergoing Beta Testing. In return the helpful victim receives their own Free Edition (lucky them) and from 5 years to a lifetime of free updates.

Oh, and their computer joins a massive P2P Botnet, and starts generating massive amounts of SPAM to help spread the worm…still no BETA software comes without the odd bug.

Here are 2 samples of the mail:

From:
[REMOVED]
To:
[REMOVED]
Subject:
We need you
Please give us a hand with our new software development Investment
Developer

This beta testing will help prepare us for market release. For helping
out, you will receive a free edition and 5 years of updates.

Simply download the software. Try it out for one week. Email us what you
think of it. If you want to participate, just follow the link to our
download site: http://71.233.[REMOVED].[REMOVED]/setup.exe

From:
[REMOVED]
To:
[REMOVED]
Subject:
Can you help us out?
Would you consider helping us with your opinion of our new program
Investment Developer

This beta testing will enable us to fine tune the software for public
release. All beta testers will receive a free copy of the final version
and free updates for life.

Just download the program, Check it out, and let us know your opinion.
Ready to be a beta tester? Just follow the link to our easy download
center: http://61.73.[REMOVED].[REMOVED]/setup.exe

The keywords to look out for to avoid this threat are “Beta Testing” and “setup.exe”. Interestingly, if you visit the actual URL that setup.exe is being hosted on, it still displays the last generation of YouTube-related attacks. Looks like the Storm crew are getting sloppy.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!