The major anti-virus developers have all issued warning about the Bugbear virus which is spreading quickly. Bugbear spreads through networks and e-mail. The sender address is forged, and may appear to be an address that you recognize. An infected email also taints a select list of executable files. The virus also attempts to terminate the processes of various antivirus and firewall programs, and opens a back door so the virus writers can gain access to an infected computer. The virus installs a keylogger. This allows a remote attacker to access all keystrokes made on the infected computer, possibly including passwords and personal information.

Bugbear embeds itself in an infected computer in many different ways and can be difficult to remove. The virus is spreading quickly in Europe and the U. S. Be sure to keep your antivirus software up to date.