I read and article earlier today in regards to infected emails and felt that it would be of interest to you all.

Part of the article is shown below however you will need to follow the link to read it in full.

Malicious Trojan horse software claiming to provide information on topics like the deadly storms that have battered Europe this week has infected thousands of computers over the past 24 hours, security vendor Sophos warned today.

The e-mail tries to entice victims into clicking on the malicious attachments by offering reports on breaking-news topics such as “230 dead as storm batters Europe,” or “U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has kicked German Chancellor,” said Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant with Sophos.

The attachments have names such as “Full Story.exe” or “Full Video.exe.” Once they are launched, these files install software that then waits to receive further instructions over the Internet, Cluley said. Unlike a worm, this Trojan software does not immediately seek out other targets to infect once it has been installed.

“You think you’re reading a news report or you’re watching a movie,” he said. “It’s the age-old technique that we’ve seen since the mid-1990s: Here’s something you want to look at. Look here!”

Cluley estimates that the Trojan accounted for about one of every 200 e-mail messages being sent on the Internet today.