Trojan targets WOW players

INSECURITY FIRM MicroWorld Technologies said a sneaky Trojan has been sniffing around the accounts of 'World of Warcraft' players looking for secrets.

The Trojan, named PSW. Win32.WOW.x, is spreading fast, say experts at the Indian firm. In a statement, they said it targets account holders of the online game, nicking passwords and shutting down virus-scanners and firewalls on users' computers.

In the "frenzied, high-octane" world of online games, "gamers are exchanging and sharing computer files and programs via emails and Peer-to-Peer devices, all the time," says Govind Rammurthy, CEO, MicroWorld Technologies. "Naturally, one tends to overlook the security aspect and easily falls prey to the vicious designs of identity thieves."

MicroWorld staff say the Trojan trundles in via pop-up ads on "dubious" gaming websites. "Bucks may be smaller compared to a Trojan that steals bank accounts or credit card numbers. However cyber criminals are not complaining as long as the target is soft and numbers are high," says Rammurthy. µ

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