Tech & Biz

Mmm... Malware...

by Jordan Yerman | July 12, 2008 at 10:23 am

236 views | 10 Recommendations | 1 comment

Attention, Simpsons fans! If you're using AOL Instant Messenger, avoid any downloads from Chunkylover53, whihc was once an online alias for one of the show's writers. These days, it's an alias for "infect your machine with malware".

Years ago, fans of The Simpsons added "Chunkylover53" to their AIM buddy list after learning that the writer-producer of the show was responding to fans in the voice of Homer from "Chunkylover53@aol.com."

Since then, the screen name has been inactive, until a few days ago when Chunkylover53's "Away" message appeared, prompting people to click on a link and run an executable in order to see "a *new* Internet-only exclusive Simpson's episode."

Of course, the file doesn't show a Simpsons video. It infects the machine with a Trojan that throws up error messages, crashes the computer when attempting to open Windows Explorer and drops other nasty files onto the machine, making it part of what is believed to be a Turkish botnet, according to FaceTime, which secures IM, collaboration and Web apps for corporations.