Hackers Keep Talking TrashHackers Keep Talking Trash

The trash-talking by competing hackers hasn't quieted, a security firm said Wednesday as it reported finding more messages in the latest version of the Netsky worm.

Netsky.p, which was first discovered on Monday, includes embedded messages that promise to continue the bizarre back-and-forth between a number of hackers or groups of hackers, said Panda Software.

"We have rewritten *N*e*t*S*k*y. That's a good tactic to destroy the bagle and mydoom worms," the text read in part.

The messages also promised a continuation of the blitz of Bagle, MyDoom, and Netsky variants that has plagued the Internet--and consumer and business users--for the past month.

"Thanks to the S*k*y*N*e*t alias *N*e*t*S*k*y* crew for the source code. Our group will continue the war," the embedded text said.

Panda warned that although 16 Netsky variants already exist, it's likely that more will appear, some with new and even more dangerous functions. "It is still necessary to keep your guard up against the new variants that could continue to appear," Luis Corrons, the head of PandaLabs, the company's virus-research arm, said in an E-mailed statement. "Each worm tries to improve upon its predecessors by wreaking greater havoc."