Happy Holidays - Watch Out for Kriz

W32.Kriz, just one year old, is expected to crop up again this Christmas, as the worm is set to dump its payload on December 25th. The worm is based on the CIH virus, which has caused damage to computers world wide. Symantec warns computer users everywhere to scan their PCs before the holiday, and released a free tool to scan for, and if necessary remove the virus.

Kriz has managed to infect Happy99.worm and W32.hllw.bymer.worm, which means it could piggy-back onto your system via the other two worms.

Kriz's payload strikes your computer first by altering the kernel then spreading to all programs on the drive and mapped drives. The real payload overwrites all files on the computer and then attempts to erase the system BIOS. Virus companies say the BIOS attack rarely works however.

Kriz is currently number 8 on Trend's Worldwide Tracking Center, according to the number of files it has recently infected.

For more information check out Robert Lemos' report on ZDNet.