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Another Trojan Email Is Doing The Rounds

Another Trojan Email popped into the spam basket today, this one entitled Facebook Password Reset Confirmation. The Email, purporting to be from Facebook, claims that the user’s Facebook password has been changed and informs them that the new password can be found in an attached document, which is a zip file.

You may receive a email claiming to be from Facebook Manager titled “Facebook Password Reset Confirmation. Important Message”. The message is a trick designed to fool recipients into installing a trojan on their computer.

Those who open the attached file, Facebook_password_3921.zip in this case, ostensibly to view their new password, will in fact be launching a copy of the Bredolab Trojan. Once downloaded, the virus gives the sender complete control of the target computer, allowing cyber criminals to potentially spy on users of the computer or use it to steal personal information or distribute more spam

As with any such dodgy emails, or unsolicited attachments, the best action is to delete the lot, and think no more about it.

Click here to find out more about the Bredolab Trojan on symantic.com.

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Space Shuttle Lifts Off Amid Twitter Frenzy

Space Shuttle Atlantis sailed smoothly into orbit today with six astronauts and a full load of spare parts for the International Space Station (ISS). Watching from front-row seats were 100 Internet-savvy NASA fans cheering on the shuttle and churning out constant Twitter updates.

The tweeps, as they are called, represent 21 states plus the District of Columbia, as well as five countries, including Morocco and New Zealand. They traveled to the launch at their own expense, after NASA invited its Twitter followers to sign up online for the chance to see a space shuttle launch up close. The 100 slots and 50 backup positions filled in less than 20 minutes on the 16 October 2009.

With only six shuttle flights remaining and still no word from the White House on a future course for astronauts, NASA is tapping into social media such as Twitter, Facebook and the like to spread its message about the need to stay in space. Astronauts have been tweeting from Earth and orbit since spring, while NASA has already held a few tweetups.

NASA estimates the 100 have more than 150,000 Twitter followers. It’s a dream outreach program for a space agency looking to drum up support. Even the most staid NASA types see the benefit of reaching out to a younger, hipper crowd.

Meanwhile, Britain’s aspirations to become a spacefaring nation inched a little closer as thousands of microscopic worms were aboard Atlantis as it launched from Cape Canaveral for the mission to the international space station. To find out more on this story, see Worms from Bristol rubbish tip journey to the space station