Malware hidden in PDF attachment.

According to F-Secure, the security firm, an unknown party has been sending tens of thousands of emails containing malicious PDF files to peoples inboxes since Friday.

The emails, which contain the malicious PDF files have the subject line relating to financial information such as "Your credit report" , "Your Credit File" , "Personal Financial Statement" and "Balance Report". They contain an attachment called "report.pdf", which when opened exploits the CVE-2007-5020 vulnerability in Acrobat Reader and IE7 to download further malware.

The company says the attacks are dedicated to hijacking the machine with the goal of spreading further malware.

"We're worried about this case, as PDF attachments are typically not filtered at email gateways", says F-Secure's Chief Research Officer Mikko Hypponen. "Executable files are now stripped almost everywhere, but PDF is stripped almost nowhere".

"Also, a security update for Acrobat Reader was just made available few days ago, so there are tons of users who haven't had a chance to update yet."

Gears of War wins Golden Joystick award

Epic's Gears of War ran riot at the golden Joystick awards 2007, winning no less than four gongs including ultimate accolade, Ultimate Game of the Year.

"Microsoft Game Studios announced on October 19 that the eagerly-awaited Gears of War for Windows has gone gold and will hit retailers on November 6."

"With the Xbox 360® version of the game selling more than 4 million copies to date, Gears of War has been lauded by critics for its gripping campaign and fast-paced multiplayer action. Windows gamers can look forward to the Gears of War experience for the very first time, and will get to choose between doing battle via mouse and keyboard or using the Windows-enabled Xbox 360 controller."

The winners in full...are

2 Ultimate Game of the Year 2007 - Gears of War

Sonopress Xbox Game of the Year 2007 - Gears of War

PC Game of the Year 2007 - sponsored by PC Gamer - The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar

PlayStation Game of the Year 2007 - sponsored by Official PlayStation Magazine UK - God of War II

Nintendo Game of the Year 2007 - sponsored by Official Nintendo Magazine - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Editor's Choice - Gears of War

The Publisher of the Year 2007 - sponsored by Future - Nintendo

The Vivendi Retailer of the Year 2007 - Game

The One to Watch - Sponsored by Total Film - Assassin's Creed

Next-Gen.biz UK Developer of the Year - Codemasters

The GameTribe Online Game of the Year 2007 - World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

Nuts All-Nighter - Gears of War

The 1Xtra Soundtrack of the Year - Guitar Hero II

The Innovation of the Year 2007 - sponsored by T3 - Nintendo Wii

4Talent Mobile Game of the Year 2007 - Final Fantasy

Games Radar Handheld Game of the Year - GTA Vice City Stories

The Sun Family Game of the Year 2007 - Wii Sports

The Bliss Girls' Choice Game of the Year 2007 - Guitar Hero II

Read more about Gears of War at http://gearsofwar.com/