Sophos Anti-Virus Says Bill Caricature Isn’t Funny

Sophos, a world leader in corporate anti-virus protection, is warning computer users against the new Caricature email worm (W32/Caric-A) which is spreading in the wild.

The worm arrives in an email with the subject “bill caricature” and an attachment named “cari.scr”. If the recipient runs this attachment, a cartoon of Bill Clinton will appear, playing a saxophone from which a bra is emerging. The worm also forwards itself to everyone listed in the victim’s address book. Text at the end of the email says “No viruse [sic] found”, and quotes the name of a well-known anti-virus company (MCAFEE.COM), to give the impression that it has been scanned and found to be clean.

“Users shouldn’t automatically believe everything they read in an email,” said Natasha Staley, anti-virus consultant, Sophos. “Fortunately, the terrible spelling in this worm’s message will leave well-informed users in no doubt that this email is one to be avoided. Those practising safe computing should not be caught out.”

Natasha Staley is available for comment on +44 (0)1235 544160 or + 44 (0)7976 977969 (mobile).

More information about this worm can be found at:

http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/w32carica.html

Sophos’s safe computing guidelines can be found at:

http://www.sophos.com/safecomputing.html