Beware the Valentine?s Day E-Card that Keeps on Giving: CA Issues Early Warning of Possible Waledac Trojan

ISLANDIA, N.Y.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--CA, Inc. (NASDAQ: CA) today issued an early warning to computer users around the world that the Win32/Waledac trojan is being readied for launch via spammed Valentine's Day e-cards. Once a computer is infected with the trojan, it can use the machine as a spam bot while gathering information about the host system and sending the data to accomplice Web servers.

CA researchers noted last week that Waledac's affiliated e-card scam Web sites have updated their content with a Valentine's Day theme—an indication that attacks are being prepared. Currently Waledac-related Web sites distribute trojan executables with filenames such as love.exe; onlyyou.exe; you.exe; youandme.exe; and meandyou.exe, but there could be new filenames that surface at any time.

"This threat is to be expected with any card-sending type of holiday, but there often is a new twist each year on delivery," said Brian Grayek, vice president of product management for CA's Internet Security Business Unit. "With a combination of awareness and ensuring your security software is current, individuals can be safe. Knowing about the threat early—before you find the email in your inbox or get the alert from your IT department—helps ensure individuals don't open the email and click on links that launch the malware."

To stay safe online, CA researchers urge users to make sure they:

Exercise caution when downloading and running unknown executable files, and if in doubt, don't.
Update their anti-virus software to the latest signatures.
Update their Internet browser to the most current version.
Schedule automatic Microsoft Windows updates if using the Windows operating system.

Please visit the [ CA Security Advisor blog ] for CA's [ Waledac Valentine's Day post ] and updates on this threat and others that are discovered.

About CA Internet Security Business Unit

CA Internet Security Business Unit (ISBU) is a unit of CA, Inc. dedicated to the development, marketing and support for CA anti-malware products. The products include a full-range of enterprise, SMB and home/home office Internet security software. The products are backed by CA's Security Advisor research team and have received major industry certifications. CA ISBU products are also offered by more than 10,000 resellers and OEM partners including leading Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs). The products are currently licensed for use on more than 70 million PCs worldwide. For more information, please visit [ http://security.com/partners ].

About CA

CA (NASDAQ: CA) is the world's leading independent IT management software company. With CA's Enterprise IT Management (EITM) vision and expertise, organizations can more effectively govern, manage and secure IT to optimize business performance and sustain competitive advantage. For more information, visit [ www.ca.com ].

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Beware the Valentine?s Day E-Card that Keeps on Giving: CA Issues Early Warning of Possible Waledac Trojan