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Worm Authors Exchange Taunting Messages

The worm blitzkrieg that started last Friday and showed no signs a ceasing Wednesday stepped up a notch as security analysts probing the code of recent malware discovered a tit-for-tat, obscenity-laced dialog between battling hacker factions.

According to analysis done by several anti-virus companies, including Central Command, Sophos, and the Finnish-based F-Secure, profanity-plagued messages between the creators of the latest Netsky, Bagle, and MyDoom variations are embedded in the worms' code.

Inside Bagle.j, the eighth variant to debut since Friday, and which first showed Tuesday, is text taunting Netsky that reads "Hey,NetSky, f*** off you b****, don't ruine our bussiness, wanna start a war?" (Not exactly Shakespeare, and the hacker's spell-checker must not be working.)

Within Bagle.k, a new variant that appeared Wednesday, is similar text, said Sophos: "Hey, NetSky, f*** off you b****!"

Netsky.f, another worm discovered Wednesday, sports a retort, according to analysis by F-Secure. Tucked inside its code is the line "Skynet AntiVirus --Bagle -- you are a looser!!!"

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