Glendale (CA) - A new worm that carries a message reminiscent of movies such as "The Ring" or "FearDotCom" is currently making rounds in the MSN Messenger community according to antivirus specialist Panda Security.

Once it has infected a computer BlackAngel.B uses the instant messenger to send messages to all the contacts in a user’s list, disguising itself as a video called "Fantasma" (Ghost). If opened, an image carrying the caption "En el 1er día te espantas, en el 2° te desesperas, en el 3° buscas ayuda y en el 4° mueres" - "on the 1st day you get scared, on the 2nd you get desperate, on the 3rd you look for help and on the 4th you die" appears on the screen, Panda said.

Besides showing a picture, the BlackAngel.B code makes several modifications to the system, which include closing different security applications (antivirus programs, firewalls, etc.) to avoid detection. It also tries to close a number of windows (Windows Task Manager, Control Panel, Registry Editor, System Configuration Utility, System Restore) so that the user cannot use operating system configuration tools, according to Panda.

To be impacted with the worm, users have to actively download the code. Messenger conversations initiated by the worm carry texts like "jaja look a that" or "mira este video" as well as a web address from where it is downloaded.

Panda did not provide information about the payload of the BlackAngel.B worm.