Warning: Super Mario Bros worm (virus) targets retro gamers via email
The Romario-A worm is the latest computer virus spreader in a series of malware packages that pose as computer games or that actually run real games to disguise the damage they inflict. Infected emails being sent around lure readers to click on them by promising a playable version of the Nintendo classic Super Mario Bros games by clicking on an email attachment. In addition to launching the game, the worm also attempts to infect other unprotected computers by mass-mailing copies of itself. So while people might not open emails from strangers, they might instead get one from a friend/relative with an infected computer.
Bottom line is you shouldn’t open suspicious emails in the first place, especially not for games like Super Mario Bros that you can legally download from the Wii Virtual Console for just $5 / €5, but if you do open an email by accident you should always have an anti-virus scanner active. When I visit acquaintances or relatives it always shocks me how few people even have a virus-scanner installed on their computer. If you’re one of those people who haven’t, you should download the free AVG Anti-Virus scanner, which also keeps your email safe.
The deceitful trick has been employed several times in the past by malware authors. Most notable are the Bagle-U worm, which attempts to start the Microsoft Hearts game, the Coconut-A virus, which urged infected users to throw coconuts at pictures of Sophos’s Graham Cluley, and the Gonori-A Trojan, which plays Minesweeper when run.
Theregister also reports the worm hasn’t spread particularly widely so far. But the malware is especially sneaky because it plays on Nintendo’s resurgence in the games market with the Wii console and the appeal of retro gaming.
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