Beware the Powerpoint Virus

This give attackers access to everything the host user has access to. So this is obviously worse for someone with administrator privileges.

Microsoft has deemed the problem as critical, the top rating on their security scale.

Symantec\’s virus hunters have dubbed the virus Trojan.PPDropper.B, while other antivirus makers are likely dissecting it as well. It follows a well-worn pattern: an email arrives from an unknown source, in this case from a Gmail account, and has a PowerPoint file attached. The email has Chinese characters in it, which would indicate its origins are in Asia.

Interestingly, the latest viruses are appearing just after Microsoft\’s regular update to try and allow the virus or exploit to be in the wild for as long as possible.

Here is a link to the Microsoft website (Security Bulletin MS09-017), where the exploit description and how to protect your software is located