Since some of my blog readers are end-users, and not IT pros, I wanted to pass along the following info.
The hot malware infecting machines lately seems to be "Antivirus XP 2008".
It starts simply enough:
(I especially like the typo of "aviailable" – nice).
The unsuspecting user clicks on the ‘e-card’ hyperlink, runs the download, and the next thing you know, you’ve got full-blown chaos on your hands:
Folks – I know that looks legit, but it’s not. Until you downloaded that "e-card" your computer wasn’t infected. You can tell by the colored AVG icon in the system tray (circled in green).
Notice how quickly it spreads (circled in red). It’s also in 4 places in the Start Menu, not shown in the picture. Also notice the ‘Vista style’ fake close button at the top of the window – this is on an XP machine. And there are apparently 3 windows popped-up, but there is only one program on the task bar for "Antivirus XP 2008". All stuff to look for.
In case you get bit, here’s a link for removal instructions for Antivirus XP 2008:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/malware-removal/remove-antivirus-xp-2008