This is a short detour from what we usually discuss on this blog, but anyone my age might think it’s worth pointing out.

Sophos warned this week of email-based malware that proclaims to have a copy of Nintendo’s classic Super Mario Bros. game. The game, of course, is actually a worm that replicates to other users in the address book.

IMO, the worm, called Romario, speaks to the attackers still trying to reach broad audiences – in this case kids who were hooked to their eight-bit Nintendo consoles for most of the 1980s.

Here’s the skinny from one Mario buff hoping to keep the Koopas off the computer:

“Bad news, in short. Beware Mario, even when touting handy-dandy play-anywhere readiness. Still, this goes some way to prove Mario’s ubiquity. The worm’s creators wouldn’t have designed it using the Mr. Mario unless they were pretty sure his smiling, mustached face would actually motivate people to open the attachment.”

- Drew, Coin Heaven, July 30, “Can Dr. Mario stop the Mario computer virus?”