New Email Worm Threatens Outlook Users - 04 Dec 2001

A new email worm that targets Microsoft Outlook users is making the rounds. Dubbed W32/BadTrans-B, the new worm doesn't take advantage of a new Outlook weakness but attacks known vulnerabilities in HTML mail that Microsoft patched months ago. So although most corporations are already protected against this kind of attack, the W32/BadTrans-B worm seems to be causing considerable problems for home users, many of whom aren't aware of the relevant security updates. For protection against all known HTML mail vulnerabilities, users need to upgrade to either Internet Explorer (IE) 6.0 or IE 5.5 Service Pack 2 (SP2), then install the cumulative patch for IE. Installing the Outlook E-mail Security Update also prevents infection by blocking the virus payload attachment.

BadTrans virus information

http://www.secadministrator.com/panda/index.cfm?fuseaction=virus&virusid=1123

Cumulative Patch for IE

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms01-055.asp