Homer Simpson spreads malware

A screen name once connected to animated TV dad Homer Simpson is being used to spread malware.

In a 2003 episode of The Simpsons, writers revealed that Homer’s e-mail address was chunkylover53@aol.com. Prior to the episode’s airing, the address was registered by one of the show’s writers, who used it to answer hundreds of e-mails from Simpsons fans. Years later, the chunkylover53 screen name has resurfaced, and it’s now being used to distribute a trojan disguised as a Simpsons movie file.

According to FaceTime malware research director Chris Boyd, chunkylover53 is sending out auto-reply messages to users which promises a special exclusive episode of the show available for download. The link in the message leads to an executable file. Upon launching the trojan, the user is presented with a fake error message which is followed by several real error messages and, finally, a blank screen. Upon restarting, the system will run noticeable slower and be prone to crashes.

So again, it’s not a good idea to blindly click links in emails without verifying the authenticity of the sender. We should know better by now don’t you think?

Source: vnunet.com