Warning to watch out for infected Windows 7

published 12 May 2009

File-sharers have been warned to watch out for a version of the Windows 7 Release Candidate that carries a Trojan threat.

Security researchers have revealed that a file hosted in popular torrent sites posing as a copy of the Windows 7 RC contains a Trojan.

Security Vendor Trend Micro said that the file features the TROJ_DROPPER.SPX disguised as SETUP.EXE, which then drops TROJ_AGENT.NICE.

Pirated files claiming to be version of the Windows 7 RC have been carried on file-sharing websites, ever since it was first distributed to developers.

Trend Micro's JM Hipolito said on the company's malware blog that it was predictable that Windows 7 was being targeted.

He said: "With Windows 7 showing much promise as early as now, it isn't very surprising that cyber criminals are using the operating system to distribute malware not necessarily as a platform, but as a social engineering technique."

Apple has also recently had a problem with Trojans turning up in downloaded software files, one of which is believed to have created the first Mac OS X botnet.

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