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Last Updated: Thursday, 26 February 2004, 12:09 GMT
New internet virus 'spreading fast'
A new, fast-spreading version of the Mydoom worm destroys files on computers worldwide as it increases attacks via e-mails, Finnish computer security experts have warned.
The Mydoom.F worm, discovered on February 20, has so far infected about 5% of all internet e-mail traffic, said Mikko Hypponen, director of research at leading antivirus company F-Secure.
"It remained quiet over the weekend and then started to spread fast early this week as e-mail messaging speeded up after the normal weekend lull," Hypponen said. "It's very worrying because it destroys files and important documents, whereas the earlier Mydoom worms used computers simply as vehicles."
Two previous versions of the virus, Mydoom.A and Mydoom.B, were programmed to strike Microsoft's Windows operating systems and to launch a worldwide attack on the Web site of SCO, one of the largest UNIX vendors in the world.
They were also set stop spreading on February 12, but F-Secure continues to find them on the internet, Hypponen said.
"They are still infecting computers because people have not updated their computer clocks," Hypponen told The Associated Press. "Many users don't pay any attention to the time on their computers, which could be set to the 1980s or 1990s."
The new version was probably not created by the makers of the previous versions of Mydoom, he said.
Mydoom.A is still the most active virus on the internet, infecting 7% of all e-mails, Hypponen said. Launched on January 26, it hit more than half of all e-mails worldwide at its peak.
F-Secure, a Helsinki-based company, was one of the first to warn of the dangers of the e-mail Mydoom worm, also known as Novarg. The company also warned of Netsky.C virus -- otherwise known as Moodown.C -- that was discovered on Wednesday and spreads itself in e-mails inside a zip file or as an executable attachment.
Last month, Microsoft promised 250,000 U.S. dollars (£135,000) to anyone who helps find and prosecute the creator of the fast-spreading Mydoom virus.
Source AOL Technology Page.
Update your anti virus protection if you have not already done so today.
Harry0.
Orgasminator
