New 'Twilight' book raises fears of PDF attacks

New 'Twilight' book raises fears of PDF attacks
Release of novella could increase risk from 'poisoned' e-book files

The release of a new novella in the popular 'Twilight' series could spark a malware outbreak, say security experts.

Security vendor PC Tools issued a warning to users in advance of the release of author Stephenie Meyer's new title "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner." A digital version of the book is scheduled to be released on the web 7 June.

The company warned that the 'Twilight' author's latest release could find its way onto the web as a PDF file which could be compromised by malware writers to contain malicious Javascript code and infect users with malware.

PC Tools said that the threat of 'poisoned' e-book files has increased with the growth of reader tablets and other devices which can be used to read digital titles.

"They will exploit the online searches to find ways to infect computers with malware and new threats," the company said.

"Eager fans searching for early sneak peeks will also be targeted."

The company is recommending that users only download the title from trusted sources, scan all downloads before launching and be wary supposed e-books which come as executable files.