NEWS & EVENTS
company news

May 5, 2000

"Love" Bites Epoch Clients and Computers Worldwide

An e-mail attachment titled "LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs" crippled thousands of computer systems across the world Thursday and continues to cause problems for users and administrators.

The attachment is a worm that, upon opening, replicates itself into Windows System directories and uses Outlook programs to send itself to everyone in the user's address book. It then searches for certain file types on all drives and overwrites them with its own code, often causing irreparable damage. Overwritten files have either ".vbs" or ".vbe" as an extension.

The worm did significant damage to one Epoch Online client, requiring a tech support visit and anti-virus solution. Several Epoch Online employees received the e-mail message, but no major damage was sustained, due to quick reaction and warning by Epoch Online technicians.

By many accounts, this is the worst virus outbreak the world has yet seen. 1999's Melissa virus, despite wreaking significant havoc, was not nearly so persistent, as this new "Love Bug" continually replicates itself upon system restart. This worm is particularly dangerous because of its benign appearance and appeal (who doesn't like a love letter?), and this is the primary reason people open it without further consideration. For more information on how to combat this and other viruses, consult these sites:

zdnet
mcafee
data-fellows

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