Net worm using Google to spread

Posted on Wednesday, December 22, 2004 @ 06:48:10 CST in Security
by Raven

manunkind writes:  
A Web worm that identifies potential victims by searching Google is spreading among online bulletin boards using a vulnerable version of the program phpBB, security professionals said on Tuesday. The Santy worm uses a flaw in the widely used community forum software known as the PHP Bulletin Board (phpBB) to spread, according to updated analyses. The worm searches Google for sites using a vulnerable version of the software, antivirus firm Kaspersky said in a statement. Almost 40,000 sites may have already been infected. Using Microsoft's Search engine to scan for the phrase "NeverEverNoSanity"--part of the defacement text that the Santy worm uses to replace files on infected Web sites--returns nearly 39,000 hits. "Santy.a is spreading rapidly," antivirus firm Kaspersky stated in a new release published Tuesday. "However, this does not directly affect users. Although the worm infects Web sites, it does not infect computers used to view those sites."