It might not seem the cleverest thing to do but a new worm, Cuebot-K, is disguising itself as the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) tool.

WGA, the anti-piracy detection software, has come under fire this past week with allegations that it violates anti-spyware legislation.

Attention has been heaped on the operations of WGA in the list of system processes, so it's no surprise that Cuebot-K, running as 'Windows Genuine Advantage Notification', was promptly investigated by leading security experts.

The worm, which spreads itself via AOL instant messanger, disables the Windows firewall and lets malicious hackers take control of a system.

Users may decide not to disable the destructive new process if they read reports asserting that the official WGA is not spyware, thus inadvertantly letting the worm off the hook ...