Security news
Security news29 March 1999
Melissa virus infects thousands in first 24 hours Office 97 infector likely to cause worldwide disruption to email servers
A virus which spreads itself by emailing infected files is set to cause widespread disruption to email servers, costing businesses millions of pounds in lost time and data.
The virus, known as WM97/Melissa was discovered on 27th March and has already spread to thousands of users globally in the first 24 hours.
Melissa is a simple Word 97 macro virus with a warhead which extracts the first fifty email addresses from Microsoft Outlook address book. It then sends an infected message which reads: 'Here is that document you asked for...don't show anyone else.' The message contains an attachment of the originally infected document.
The virus affects computers running MS Office 97 or Office 2000. It spreads automatically on computers with MS Outlook. It increases its chances of infection by turning virus protection on the machine down to its lowest setting, so that users are no longer warned if they are about to open a file with macros.
'The virus originally appeared in a Usenet news posting to the alt.sex newsgroup,' said Dr Jan Hruska, technical director at Sophos. 'The main threat is that it spreads so quickly and can choke email servers by the sheer number of messages. Users may unknowingly open the infected email and within minutes a host of other organisations may become infected.' 'We believe that thousands of computers have been hit by Melissa,' added Hruska. 'It is vital that users update their anti-virus software before the cost implications start hitting home.'
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About Sophos
Sophos enables enterprises all over the world to secure and control their IT infrastructure. Sophos's network access control, endpoint, web and email solutions simplify security to provide integrated defenses against malware, spyware, intrusions, unwanted applications, spam, policy abuse, data leakage and compliance drift. With over 20 years of experience, Sophos protects over 100 million users in nearly 150 countries with its reliably engineered security solutions and services. Recognized for its high level of customer satisfaction and powerful yet easy-to-use solutions, Sophos has received many industry awards, as well as positive reviews and certifications.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com
