Disable macros from Microsoft Office apps to protect yourself from malware spam campaigns
Think twice before opening an attachment in an email you just received from recipients you don't know. Think twice if you're in Japan, as there's a high chance you'll be the victim of a malware-ridden spam attack.
There is no need to worry too much, however, as to protect yourself, all you have to do is disable macros in Microsoft Office applications. This will prevent macro-based threats from executing.
The issue came to light on October 8, when employees of various companies in Japan began receiving suspicious emails, which, as it turned out, contained malicious attachments.
Researchers from Symantec, who found the malware, confirmed that these emails were part of a 'wave' of massive malware-ridden spam attacks currently underway in Japan.
These emails contain Microsoft Word documents attached to them, which contain malicious macros. Researchers said the malware attempts to download the same executable file (65g3f4.exe) from multiple remote locations.
“We have observed download attempts coming from the following domains: Leelazarow[.]com, Rockron[.]com, www[.]profes-decin[.]kvalitne[.]cz,” they state in the blog post.
“There are two types of these emails: one appears to be an order confirmation from a Japanese equipment supplier, and the second appears to be from a local printing company,” the researchers report.
They detected a malicious Word document called W97M.Downloader, a known tool for such threats as Trojan.Cryptodefense and Trojan.Cridex.
