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Malware Hijacks Obama Emails
Spammers launch massive 'Obama Trojan' malware campaign to capitalize on victory
By Rob Quinn
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Posted Nov 6, 08 7:40 AM CST
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(Newser)
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Malicious hijackers have hitched a ride on the Barack Obama bandwagon, ChannelWeb reports. "Obama Trojan" emails offer a link to an amazing Obama speech or election results, but when the link is opened, it infects computers with malware that sends the user's personal data to a command center and turns the machine into a spam-spewing zombie.
Security experts say the spam attack—which now accounts for 60% of malicious spam— appears to have been planned long in advance to capitalize on Obama's win. They advise that Obama-related emails be approached with caution. "Please apply a grain of common sense," urged one consultant. "If an email is unsolicited, think twice before clicking on the links."