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VBS/Loveletter.a
I'm sure you've
heard of this Visual Basic Script worm, but the problem is,
it's still out and about in a big way, under many different
mutations. McAfee AVERT still considers it a HIGH RISK, and
it's extremely destructive.
Watch for any email
with Subject titles like 'I Love You', 'FW:Joke', 'FREE XXX',
'You May Win $1,000,000!', or any variations of that type. The
attachment will usually have a .VBS or .HTM extension. Watch
for variations of: 'LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.VBS', 'LOVE-LETTER.VBS',
'VERY FUNNY.VBS', 'VERY FUNNY.HTM', 'LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.HTM',
etc...
As with any virus,
worm or trojan distributed via email, the best thing you can
do is delete the email and its attached file before you click
on it. You should, of course, keep an up-to-date anti-virus
program installed, with current virus signatures or .DAT files.
When activated, the
VBS/Loveletter worm copies itself to your hard drive in the
form of several files such as: MSKERNEL32.VBS, WIN32DLL.VBS,
LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.VBS, and LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.HTM.
It also attaches
itself to '.JPG and .JPEG', adding a .VBS extension. In other
words, if you have a file called 'HORSES.JPG', the virus will
attach itself and rename the file 'HORSES.JPG.VBS'.
Files with the extensions,
'.VBS', '.VBE', '.JSE', and '.HTA' (as well as others) will
be overwritten with the worm and have their extensions changed
to '.VBS'.
VBS/Loveletter
makes changes to the Registry and sends itself to every person
in your email address books. It will also send itself to the
people in your IRC address list, if you have that program installed.
Because of the number
of files that can become infected, this particular miscreant
program needs to be removed with anti-virus software. You should
make sure you have a recent version of your favorite anti-virus
program and the most current .DAT files, or virus signatures.
I have used McAfee's
online virus scan to remove VBS/LoveLetter more than
once, and it works very well. Check it out at the
McAfee
Clinic
Be prepared to replace
needed files that must be deleted.
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