October 2004
New Bagle Variant Spreading Quickly
BitDefender Labs is on the case
A new variant of the Bagle strain was detected today by BitDefender Labs and is spreading fast, having been reported in numerous instances in the wild. Bagle.AX is a classical mass mailer, in no way dissimilar to its predecessors. It obviously spreads by e-mail, but also copies itself into shared folders, under various appetizing names like "Serials.txt.exe"
The virus has a backdoor component, which presumably listens for commands from its creators and uses a simple trick to create copies of itself that are of variable length, making it harder to filter out of e-mails.
When asked to comment on the apparent success the new virus has had, BitDefender CTO Bogdan Dumitru declared: "At this time, I can think of no reason other than deft initial seeding. The author, or authors, must have had a list of vulnerable machines at hand."
BitDefender labs have been detecting this virus since it first appeared last night, under the name of Win32.Bagle.10.Gen@mm. A specific signature update has been issued, and a free removal tool is also available on the BitDefender website. A full technical description can be found here.
About Bitdefender®
Bitdefender is the creator of one of the world's fastest and most effective lines of internationally certified internet security software.Since 2001, the company has been an industry pioneer, introducing and developing award-winning protection. Today, Bitdefender technology secures the digital experience of around 400 million home and corporate users across the globe.
Recently, the company has won a range of key independent recommendations in the US, UK and across Europe, including ConsumerSearch, Which?, Stiftung Warentest and Taenk. Bitdefender antivirus technology has also finished top in leading industry tests from both AV Test and AV-Comparatives. More information about Bitdefender's antivirus products is available from the company's security solutions press room. Additionally, Bitdefender publishes Malware City providing the latest updates on security threats and helping users stay informed in the everyday battle against malware.