Deletemusic worm threat to mp3 collections

Anti-virus researchers warned of a new virus that looks for music stored on users' computers to delete them before spreading itself via USB memory devices.

According to Orla Cox, security operations manager at anti-virus company Symantec's Security Response research team, the W32.Deletemusic worm affect a number of Windows systems and copies itself to drives on the compromised computer and searches for mp3 files to then delete.

Cox said that the worm writes an Autorun.inf file to any removable drive. Much like floppy disk-based viruses of old, the worm relies on removable devices being passed around an organisation to infect other computers.

Cox said that the virus had been constructed from a virus toolkit and was very basic in nature. She said that there was no real criminal intent behind the worm other than "mischief making by a script kiddie"

She added that the worm's real damage will be to people's pockets if they have bought music downloads.

"With so many people relying on their PCs to store their digital music, rather than physical CDs, a worm capable of deleting an entire mp3 collection could leave someone thousands of pounds out of pocket," said Cox. "We would recommend all users with mp3 files on their PCs to remain cautious about the removable media devices they are using in their machines."

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