Users hit by phony MP3 files

By Dave Nixon

Adware peddlers have found a novel method to deceive users, said security vendor McAfee.

The company stated that it has seen a vast increase in fake MP3 file distribution on peer-to-peer networks.

Even though the files have names that make them appear as audio recordings, they are essentially Trojan horse programs that attempt to install an inferior media player and adware on your computer, said Craig Schmugar, a researcher with McAfee.

Bogus file names include: preview-t-3545425-changing times earth wind .mp3 and t-3545425-just got lucky.mp3.

Schmugar published more filenames, including details of the adware on a blog.

Users are initially prompted to agree to an end-user licence agreement ahead of the Trojan installing the Mirar toolbar and two other components, called FBrowsingAdvisor & SurfingEnhancer.

Paradoxically, even as Mirar tells users that it doesn’t display pop-ups, the FBrowsingAdvisor & SurfingEnhancer software do distribute popup ads, so users who do not recognize that they are installing numerous programs might be aware of being tricked, Schmugar said.

Although McAfee has historically witnessed some spiteful software disguising itself as media files, it has never come across anything to this extent, Schmugar said.

Over the past 24 hours, virtually a third of the McAfee customers who reported data back to the security company have detected these files, he said.

In the past few days McAfee has noted the files on more than 360,000 users’ desktops.