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Virus spread by Skype infects more than 300,000 computers

More than 300,000 computers have been infected with a new worm that is spreading via Skype, 67 percent of them in Latin America, the consulting firm ESET LiveGrid reported on Tuesday.

The spamming virus requires just one click to infect a computer. The method used involves messages supposedly sent by user contacts related to images that the user can see by clicking on a link.

“Hello, are these really your photos? [link]” , “haha, Here is a nice photo of you [link]” are some of the messages used by the virus.

Once infected, the virus begins spamming all the user’s contacts with the same messages over and over.

Data released Tuesday say more than 300,000 people have clicked on infected links. According to ESET, the five countries with more infected computers are Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Russia.

“Its impact and speed of propagation are above average,” said the security firm.

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L. Arias
L. Arias
Reporter | The Tico Times |
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