Flash virus found, patch out soon
9th January 2002 (The Star)

SAN FRANCISCO: Computer security experts on Tuesday said they had found the first virus designed to attack Macromedia Inc's Flash animation files, which are predominatingly used in Internet advertising and on glitzy websites.

The virus, dubbed SWF/LFM.926, is low risk because it must be downloaded manually and cannot spread itself to other computers over e-mail or through browsers like many other viruses can, experts said.

However, people who browse an affected website or use e-mail could still become infected if they download and open an infected Flash file on their computer outside of the browser, Macromedia said.

A spokeswoman at San Francisco-based Macromedia said the company would release a patch for the virus within the next few days.

A sample of the virus was sent to antivirus vendor Sophos Inc from a Hotmail e-mail account and is not spreading "in the wild," said Craig Schmugar, virus research engineer at Network Associates Inc.

The virus affects Windows NT and XP based computers, but only those storing Flash files, which can be movies, games and other animations, according to Schmugar.

"Most people aren't going to have any Shockwave Flash files on their computer," he said. "It's very unlikely the virus will spread very far."

When executed, the virus displays a message saying "Loading Flash Movie" and shows a number puzzle that people might try to solve, Schmugar said.

The virus also creates a program that infects other Flash files on the same system, he said.

Macromedia will release information on the virus and patch at www.macromedia.com/support/flash/. -- Reuters