Mikko Hyponnen, chief research officer at F-Secure posted the discovery earlier this week and identified the malware as the Zlob Trojan.
According to the
F-Secure security labs blog, the malware overlays existing MySpace profiles with banner messages that entice users to click on a malicious link then downloads and silently installs spyware on infected computers.
In this case a fake link to a 'top model site' has been used: “Find best model sites here, this profile contains adult content…CLICK HERE,” the blog states.
According to John McDonald senior security response manager at Symantec the Zlob Trojan’s goal is to download and install bogus spyware applications.
“It will pop up bogus messages [like] 'your system has been infected'. Then ask you to download anti-spyware software.
“Once downloaded, another message appears saying the software did not clean your system and instead you need another one which you have to pay for,” said McDonald.
In January millions of MySpace users were infected by an
Apple Quicktime exploit attempting to steal user log in details.