Virus warning: Don't join MyParty

IT Security experts are warning users to beware of a virulent new worm, dubbed 'MyParty', currently spreading quickly in the wild.

The worm was first discovered in Singapore and spread rapidly across Asia this morning. Anti-virus vendor MessageLabs reports it is already the most popular virus of the last 24 hours.

The worm spreads by attempting to trick victims into opening a file promising entertaining party snaps. Once executed the worm sends itself to everyone in the victim's address book - appearing to come from the infected machine's owner.

As such when future recipients receive the virus, it will most likely come from a friend or colleague, increasing the likelihood of it being opened. As yet virus experts have identified no malicious payload.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos anti-virus, said the worm represents a new level of social engineering. "This is something that comes from your mates, and promises party photos. It is very plausible for many users," he said.

He added that as yet the worm has not made a huge impact in the UK. He said: "Now we are waiting for 14:00(GMT) when the US wakes up, and we'll see whether it gets big then. Hopefully users can get patched up in advance."

The email containing the virus is titled "new photos from my party!" and contains the text: "Hello!/My party... It was absolutely amazing!/I have attached my web page with new photos!/If you can please make color prints of my photos. Thanks!"

The attached file is entitled www.myparty.yahoo.com, posing as a URL for a Yahoo!-hosted website. It is actually an executable file.

At the time of writing MessageLabs reported 1,488 instances of the worm in the last 24 hours, though that figure was increasing rapidly.