Virus Targets 64-bit Windows
Virus writers have unleashed the first program that infects 64-bit Windows files, antivirus firm Symantec said Monday.
Source: c|netThe virus, dubbed W64.Shruggle by Symantec, seems mainly to be an experiment to test the concept of a 64-bit infecter and is not actively spread, said Alfred Huger, senior director of security at Symantec. "The most interesting thing about this is that virus writers are already developing for the 64-bit platform," he said. Symantec got a copy of the virus from an antivirus newsgroup the company monitors, Huger said. The virus, even if released on the Internet, would not spread, he added, because the Windows software that the program exploits has not yet been released by Microsoft. Some developers are trying out the 64-bit extensions for Windows, but the software is still being tested. The virus will not run on 32-bit versions of Windows, such as Windows 2000 and Windows XP, owned by the vast majority of Microsoft users.
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