There’s a new kind of malicious software targeting Windows users who download music. The new malware affects those who download music files on peer-to-peer networks, and inserts links to dangerous web pages within ASF (Advanced Systems Format) media files.
Advanced Systems Format is a Microsoft-defined container format for audio and video streams that can also hold arbitrary content such as images or links to web resources.
If a user plays an infected music file, it will launch Internet Explorer and load a malicious web page which asks the user to download a codec, a well-known trick to get someone to download malware.
The actual download is not a codec, but a Trojan horse, which installs a proxy program on the PC. This proxy program allows hackers to route other traffic through the compromised PC, helping the hacker essentially cover their tracks for other malicious activity.
The malware has worm-like qualities. Once on a PC, it looks for MP3 or MP2 audio files, transcodes them to Microsoft’s Windows Media Audio format, wraps them in an ASF container and adds links to further copies of the malware, in the guise of a codec, according to another security analyst, Secure Computing.
Yes this same old trick is used time and time again, I do not know why people fall for it. This is also used when some-one downloads a mover and need a “special player”. You are better off buying the dvd people! It’s a pain to get rid of once you get infected. What do you think? Is the entertainment industry using these tactics to protect their wares?
Is this something NoScript can take care of?
Just use VLC… no need for codecs!
it is really hard to dwnload files from the net. i believe the music industry is doing this to make the dwnloaders suffer.