WOW Password Stealing Trojan Targets Online Gamers
Security Analysts at MicroWorld Technologies inform that a new variant of the password stealing Trojan named “Trojan-PSW.Win32.WOW.x’ is spreading fast, attacking account holders of the online game “World of Warcraft’. This Trojan also shuts down many AntiVirus and Firewall software on user computers to enhance its malice.
World of Warcraft is a multimillion million dollar entity in the world of cyber games where huge sums change hands every second. A gamer dons a specific avatar while playing this game of alien characters and imaginary galaxies. Once the hacker gets hold of a gamer’s password, he can transfer victim’s goods to his personal account which is easily converted to liquid currency through Gaming Currency Exchange websites.
“The realm of online games is a high octane one with a huge percentage of teenage population,” says Govind Rammurthy, CEO, MicroWorld Technologies. “In this frenzied world, gamers are exchanging and sharing computer files and programs via emails and Peer-to-Peer devices, all the time. Naturally, one tends to overlook the security aspect and easily falls prey to the vicious designs of identity thieves.”
MicroWorld experts have found that, apart from spreading via emails and P2P sharing, this Trojan slips into user computers via pop-up ads being displayed on many dubious gaming websites, through a vulnerability in Internet Explorer. Reports from some corners claim that the controversial Rootkit components in some Music CDs were also exploited in advancing this Trojan.
“New variants found for Win32.WOW is a clear indication that malware writers are targeting any thing that involves money, yet remains vulnerable. 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,” observes Govind Rammurthy.
Many Password stealing Trojans are being extensively researched upon by security experts of MicroWorld Technologies. While MicroWorld has been the quickest in releasing antidotes for new and emerging Trojans of this breed, many common patterns are identified among these malwares and subsequent behavior analysis is incorporated in eScan and MailScan to identify the viruses of tomorrow.