John Spain

Valentine's Day usually symbolizes a time of love and togetherness. But, for
online thieves, it serves a different purpose. John Spain has more in this
Bobcat Update.

Many Texas State students and staff are looking forward to the upcoming holiday.
But beware. There's a computer worm making the rounds -- disguised as a
Valentine's Day message. It might just make its way into your inbox.
In early February, the Texas State Information Technology Assistance Center, or
I-TAC, released an alert, warning computer users across campus to be wary of
Valentine's Day-themed attachments. Such attachments or e-greetings, ITAC warns,
may have potentially dangerous consequences.
Computer worms are designed to utilize networks, much like Texas State's, to
continually replicate a payload of information from one user's system to
another. Once an unsuspecting user willingly opens the email attachment, the
spread begins.
Information phishing schemes, designed to extract personal and financial
information from computers, are often spread via computer worms, and unlike a
typical virus, a worm needs nothing more than a trusting click of the mouse.
Corbett Consolvo, Senior Information Analyst at Texas State, says
thieves are always on the ready to uncover and distribute personal information.
Such attacks are more prevalent at certain times of the year.
(SB 0:15 "...money later.")
E-mail-savvy users are usually able to make distinctions between legitimate and
malicious e-mail, but having protective software helps considerably.
(SB 0:15 "...on it." )
Most attacks affect Windows-based P-C users. Security analysts like Consolvo
say mobile devices are less likely to fall prey to a worm. But in the future,
as attackers learn how to manipulate the technology, smart-phones might also be
vulnerable. For Bobcat Update, I'm John Spain.