[theburmanetnews] BurmaNet: Virus w

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Subject: [theburmanetnews] BurmaNet: Virus warning

BURMANET: VIRUS WARNING

May 19, 2000

BurmaNet subscribers, especially those using Microsoft Outlook as 
their email client, should be aware of a  new and more destructive 
variant of the ILOVEYOU virus that has begun circulating on the 
Internet.  See below for a full description of the new virus.  

The new virus is  carried as an attachment to an email message.  The 
subject line of  the email and the name of the attachment will be 
copied at random from the subject line of a message in the previous 
victim's Inbox.  In theory, you could receive a message and 
attachment saying FW:  BURMANET NEWS: [date of issue].vbs

In part due to the threat of viruses in attachments, BurmaNet does 
not distribute the news as an attachment to email messages.  If you 
receive any forwarded attachments, exercise caution.  If you receive 
an attachment with a .vbs suffix, it is more than likely a virus.

Strider



******

AP: NEW BUG LOOSE IN COMPUTERS, EXPERTS SAY
SYMANTEC ANTI-VIRUS RESEARCH CENTER: VBS.NEWLOVE.A

****

AP: NEW BUG LOOSE IN COMPUTERS, EXPERTS SAY

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

May 19, 2000


A new virus is eating its way through computers, and this one is 
smarter and more destructive than the worldwide "Love Bug" plague 
that inspired it, experts say.  While the "Love Bug" was given away 
by the "ILOVEYOU" subject line of the e-mails that carried it, the 
new virus changes subject lines every time it is sent. It also 
destroys most of the files on the computers it infects. 

"Each time the virus spreads, it mutates itself to evade detection," 
according to Symantec Corp.,
an anti-virus software maker in Cupertino, Calif.  The virus was 
detected at several large companies late Thursday, said Dave Perry, 
spokesman for another anti-virus software maker, Trend Micro Inc. in 
Cupertino. At one company, 5,000 computers were infected, said Perry, 
who would not identify any of the companies affected. 

The subject line of an infected e-mail starts with "FW: " and 
includes the name of a randomly chosen attachment from a previous e-
mail on an infected computer. The  e-mail will have an attachment 
with the same name, but ending in ".vbs." 

Clicking on the attachment will activate the virus. Like "Love Bug," 
it will send itself to everyone in the user's address book. It will 
then overwrite most files on the hard drive, rendering
the computer useless until the operating system is reinstalled. 

So far, Microsoft's Outlook is the only e-mail program the virus is 
attacking, said Anita Chen, a spokeswoman for Trend Micro. Microsoft 
has said it will next week make available a modification to Outlook 
that will warn users about suspect e-mail attachments.  The size of 
the virus's attachments are more likely to crash e-mail servers, 
experts said. The "Love Bug" had a small attachment, but crashed e-
mail servers all over the world when it sent millions of copies of 
itself through the systems at once. 

The "Love Bug" spread like an avalanche to millions of computers two 
weeks ago. Estimates of the damages caused range up to $10 billion, 
and investigators have questioned several people in the Philippines 
during the search for the author.  The relatively simple "Love Bug" 
virus was followed some hours later by slightly modified variants, 
posing as jokes or confirmations on Mother's Day gifts. None of the 
variants were very widespread. 

Trend Micro's Perry said he hoped that increased awareness among e-
mail users would hold back the spread of the new virus.  "Any time a 
virus hits a week after another virus, its potency is diminished," he 
said. "People tend to be a little more cautious." 


SYMANTEC ANTI-VIRUS RESEARCH CENTER: VBS.NEWLOVE.A

Last updated 5/18/00 5:34pm PST 
SARC, in conjunction with other anti-virus vendors, has renamed this 
worm from VBS.LoveLetter.FW.A to VBS.NewLove.A. 

The VBS.NewLove.A is a worm, and spreads by sending itself to all 
adressees in the Outlook address book when it is activated. The 
attachment name is randomly chosen, but will always have a .Vbs 
extension. The subject header will begin with "FW: " and will include 
the name of the randomly chosen attachment (excluding the .VBS 
extension) Upon each infection, the worm introduces up to 10 new 
lines of randomly generated comments in order to prevent detection. 

http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/vbs.loveletter.fw.a.html


END







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