[Am-info] E-mail virus picks up speed

[Steve Cohen]

That tracks pretty well with my experiences.  Prior to
this past summer, it was very rare for me to receive a
virus in the email - maybe once every 2 or 3 months. 
Now, it's more like 3 or 4 a week.

--- Erick Andrews <eandrews@star.net> wrote:
> Ho, hum.  Aren't you glad you don't use Windows?
> 
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2621419.stm
> 
> The virus is a version of the Yaha worm which first
> appeared in
> February.
> 
> The new one was first spotted in an e-mail from
> Kuwait on 21
> December.  Since then, MessageLabs says it has
> stopped 33,487
> copies of the virus.
> 
> Yaha.K arrives in an e-mail disguises as an .exe or
> .scr
> attachment, with a variety of subject lines and
> messages related
> to hacking, love, hate and porn.
> 
> The terms used in the subject line include Sexy
> Screensavers 4 U,
> Wanna be my sweetheart?  and The Hotmail Hack.
> 
> Virus plague
> 
> The worm raids the Windows address book to e-mail
> itself to your
> contacts, forging e-mail addresses.
> 
> It may also try to shut down security-related
> software, such as
> firewalls and anti-virus programs.
> 
> Anti-virus firms say the worm may also launch a
> denial of service
> attack against a Pakistani Government website,
> infopak.gov.pk.
> 
> E-mail viruses have plagued computer users
> throughout the year.
> 
> Figures from MessageLabs show that one in every 212
> e-mails
> containing a virus in 2002.
> 
> This reflects a big increase on previous years.  In
> 2001, the firm
> stopped an average one every 380 e-mails, while in
> 2000 the figure
> was as low as one every 790.
> 
> -- 
> Erick Andrews
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Am-info mailing list
> Am-info@lists.essential.org
> http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/am-info

__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
http://mailplus.yahoo.com