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. The company is an industry pioneer, introducing and developing award-winning protection since 2001. Today, Bitdefender technology secures the digital experience of around 400 million home and corporate users across the globe.
Recently, Bitdefender won a series of important awards and accolades in the global security industry, including "Product of the Year" by AV-Comparatives, "Best Repair 2012" by AV-Test, "Editor's Choice" and "The Best Antivirus for 2013" by PC Mag, that confirmed the antivirus software’s leadership status among security products.
More information about Bitdefender's products is available from the company's security press room. Additionally, Bitdefender publishes the HOTforSecurity blog, where readers can find stories from the underworld of internet fraud, scams, malicious software - and gossip.