Users tricked by promise of celebrity porn

A 'special ActiveX plug-in' to view the video is actually a version of the Zlob Trojan

Malware distributors are using a fabricated sex scandal to push their wares, according to security researchers.

Symantec has found numerous fake blogs which refer to a 'home sex movie' made by Hong Kong film stars Edison Chen and Cecilia Cheung. The blogs are then advertised by spammed comments on forums.

Users are told that they will need to download a special ActiveX plug-in to view the video which does not, of course, exist. Instead of a browser plug-in, users receive a version of the Zlob Trojan.

The scheme is a new twist on the 'fake codec' scam, a social engineering attack in which users are told that they need to download new plug-ins and video translators in order to watch movie files.

The codecs turn out to be Trojan applications which install malware on the user's system.

Symantec researcher Silas Barnes said in a company blog that the best way to protect against the attack is through education.

"The use of fake ActiveX video objects and codecs is certainly not a new phenomenon, and has been used to target viewers of adult material," he wrote.

"Ensuring that you and your users are aware of the threats, and the way they operate, makes it more difficult for this kind of malicious activity to bear fruit for its creator."