Has any one heard of this scam yet?

Question

Vicious! If You Get This IM, Don't Click It

If you get either of these Instant Messages:
"hey, would it be ok if i upload this picture of you to my blog?"
or
"hey is it alright if i put this picture of you on my egallery album?"
DO NOT CLICK ON THEM. Remember, they will come to you from someone on your buddy list--that is, a close friend, family member or even your boss. The files will look like image files ending in jpg. But they aren't! If you click on either one and allow the file to execute, your computer could become a botnet drone that will be under the complete control of the hackers, reports Chris Boyd of FaceTime Security Labs on SpyWareGuide.com. Researchers believe that the ultimate goal of the worm, known as Win32.Pipeline, is to create a sophisticated botnet that can be used for a range of malicious purposes, reports VNU Network.
This appears to be a very sophisticated operation.

Answer 1

Like many IM worms, W32.pipeline first appears as an instant message from a familiar contact, luring users into clicking on a link with a contextual phrase. The IM message "hey would it okay if i upload this picture of you to my blog?" downloads a command file called image18.com, which is disguised as a JPEG. Running the file results in csts.exe being created in the user's system32 folder, part of the Windows operating system.

The infection has the potential to call, via the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channel, numerous other files that are constantly being updated. Depending on the files downloaded, the infection may create an unwanted service named RPCDB, open up SMTP port 25 (used for email) and attempt to connect to a file upload site. In addition, some files attempt to exploit ADS (alternate data streams). Users may also potentially end up with a rootkit installed on their PC as a result of this chain of infections.

Once the user's PC is infected and under control of the botnet, it can be used to propagate the worm to other users using the same highly refined contextual message, for example "hey is it alright if i put this picture of you on my egallery album? " which will download another command file, again disguised as a JPEG, on additional computers.

FaceTime researchers have noted that this botnet demonstrates much more sophisticated characteristics than any they have seen before, including the ability to authorize only specific IRC clients to log in and manipulate the botnet.

"The emphasis for this latest worm is not so much on the files that are delivered to the users' computers, but rather on the way these files are deposited onto the system," said Chris Boyd, director of malware research for FaceTime Security Labs. "Previous IM attacks have tended to focus on the damage done by the files, with little thought on the method of delivery, save for the quickest way to get those files onto a PC. Here, the motivation for the bad guys seems to be in lining up as many ‘install chains' as possible to insure a consistent pipeline that can be controlled by their rogue botnet."

Answer 2

hey, would it be ok if i upload this picture of you to my blog?

Thanks for the warning, but I don't have any friends.

Answer 3

This is scary and very under handed ...thanks for the warning, I will be keeping an eye out for this in the future...it sort of makes a mess of bloging ....not happy :-(

Answer 4

Thank you, for the warning, mighty nice of you.

Answer 5

Had not heard of it, but I never use AIM or any product from AOL so I am not concerned for my equipment.

Answer 6

I don't use Yahoo! IM, but glad we have been warned.

Answer 7

I have not heard of this scam. well done for the info.

Answer 8

Thanks a million man...
We need more geeks like you to warn us of anymore scam...

Answer 9

NO !!! Thats really scary but thanks for the warning

Answer 10

don't remember