A computer worm disguised as a Christmas greeting has been spread widely among users of MSN, a popular online chat tool.

Several hundred victims of the Christmas software infection yesterday logged calls to the Beijing Jiangmin New Sci & Tec Co's hotline, the virus control company said.

The worm, called Worm/MSN.SendPhoto.V, automatically sends files with words, like "Hola, my Christmas pictures for you" or "Christmas Photos! :D," on the instant message tool MSN. If anyone opens the files, their computers will be infected and possibly controlled by hackers.

"It is probably at its most dangerous during the holiday week with the popularity of MSN," said Cao Lingxiang, Jiangmin's spokesperson.

China's MSN user base stands at about 20 million and infected computers will automatically send the "greetings" to everyone listed on their MSN chat lists.

Several hundred users have also reported the worm to Rising Corp, the Beijing-based Internet security firm said.

Hackers often seek password information for online game accounts and virtual weapons that can be traded on auction Websites for up to several thousand yuan. Some hackers also target online bank and stock accounts to steal funds from the owners or conduct money laundering, according to experts from Jiangmin, Rising and Kingsoft Corp, another Internet security firm.

Experts warned computer users to update Internet security programs regularly and be cautious about opening strange or unknown links on MSN.

People should be especially careful with strange photo files which have been compressed (.zip and .rar), experts said.

(Shanghai Daily December 26, 2007)