An email that claims to bring breaking news of the death of US President George Bush actually contains a worm, security experts have warned.
The worm, dubbed Dref-N, arrives in a message that has the following subject lines: 'White house news', 'President Bush Dead' and attached files such as last.exe, lasest news.exe, never.exe, war.exe, about me.exe, a.exe or read me.exe.
If internet users open the attached file, it will disable the Windows firewall and allow external hackers to gain access to the system, according to Sophos.
"Users may think that they are receiving these emails from their friends, family and colleagues, but in fact it is a worm that has infected their computers and sent the message," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos.
"The simple advice is that if you suspect there's a breaking news story to turn on the TV or visit your favourite news website to see if it has any basis in truth. Remember that fools rush in where angels fear to tread," he added.
According to Sophos, the infected message can also pose as breaking news of the death of Vladimir Putin and arrives with the following subject line 'President Putin dead! Read attached file!'.
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Topic: News of Bush's death is a hoax (Read 698 times)