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Virus steals passwords over Skype

Date: December 20, 2006
Source: cbc.ca


Internet security company Websense Inc. on Tuesday said it had found a password-stealing computer virus that spreads through the popular Skype voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) communications software.

The Trojan horse sends a message through the Skype Chat text-based instant messaging tool and asks the recipient to download a file named sp.exe. If a user complies, the virus downloads Skype programming code and new versions of itself from the internet and tries to steal passwords, Websense's security alert said.

A Trojan horse is a program that appears to perform one function in order to hide a malicious one. Like the mythological Trojan horse such programs are named after, the deception tricks people into granting them access.
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