Messages of the Ahker-F worm include "Watch Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt caught on TAPE! SEXY CLIP! WATCH IT!"
If the attached file — Clip.zip — is opened and executed, the virus copies itself onto the user's hard drive, attempts to disable any antivirus software and tries to spread using email and instant messaging.
It will also attempt to spread itself over file-sharing networks using a variety of filenames, including PORNO.exe, XXX.exe, Naked WWEDivas.exe, NakedBritney.exe, NakedCelebrity.exe and CelebUncensord.exe.
Ahker-F also tries to launch a denial of service attack against Microsoft's Windows Update service and software company Rohitab.com.
It is the sixth Ahker worm, apparently from the same virus writer who calls himself Agent Hacker.
With Ahker-F, the writer includes the following messages for the antivirus vendors: "Agent Hacker rules!" and "Genes don't contain any record of humain [sic] history, you'll NEVER catch me!(Agent Hacker - Bazzi."
Network security firm Sophos said Thursday that 1,225 new viruses were introduced in March, but despite that figure surfers continue to open anonymously sent files.
"Everyone should be very careful about what they choose to run on their computer," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. “Virus writers have a long history of disguising their malicious code as this kind of content.
"People's appetite for salacious gossip is insatiable, and some may be tempted to run what appear to be pornographic movie files distributed across the Internet.”
The total number of viruses that Sophos now protects against is 102,123. Sophos research indicates that 2.62 percent, or one in 38 emails, circulating during the month of March were viral.