Hacked off

National | Technology | Chris Stamper

Hacked off

THERE'S A HACKER FIGHT ON THE INTERNET -- AS recent e-mail worms contain insults directed at other virus writers. Creators of malicious programs Netsky, MyDoom, and Bagle are apparently engaged in a shouting match carried on around the globe.

This could be a real flame war -- or somebody's way of covering his tracks. One Netsky variant includes the message, "Bagle -- you are a looser!!!!" A version of Bagle warns the Netsky author, "don't ruine our bussiness [sic], wanna start a war?"

All three worms are variations on a theme. They all travel through e-mail, bearing fake headers to entice unwitting Windows users to open the messages. The turf war follows MyDoom's February assault, which some experts consider the worst to date. One of the most recent creations unleashed is a variant known as Bagle.u. Once launched, it mails itself to any e-mail address it can find on the victimized computers' address books, then hides on host hard drives while awaiting further instructions (apparently from its author).