New MSN trojan spreading quickly

disturbing news appeared few hours ago at eWeek: A new Trojan is introducing malware into thousands of computer systems worldwide, and the number is growing by the hour. The malware is being introduced by MSN Messenger files posing as pictures, mostly seeming to come from known acquaintances. The files are a new type of Trojan that has snared several thousand PCs for a bot network within hours of its launch earlier on Nov. 18 and is being used to discover virtual PCs as a means of increasing its growth vector.

The Trojan is an IRC bot that?s spreading through MSN Messenger by sending itself in a .zip file with two names. One of the names includes the word ?pics? as a double extension executable?a name generally used by scanners and digital cameras: for example, DSC00432.jpg.exe. The Trojan is also contained in a .zip file with the name ?images? as a .pif executable?for example, IMG34814.pif. The files are infiltrating new systems by using either known contacts from which the Trojan has harvested instant messaging names, as well as from the systems of unknown users. Doublecheck every file you receive through your MSN or your computer could easily end up as a zombie in some huge botnet?