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- Sep 22, 2000
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"Happy New Year"CHRISTMAS.EXE virus
BEWARE! PC Virus Disables Keyboard
By Cathryn Conroy, CompuServe News Editor
Yet another virus is lurking in e-mail, but more people may fall prey to this one because it looks like a holiday greeting sent by one of your friends. Called the Reeezak worm, it will disable selected keys on the infected PC's keyboard and delete all the files found in the Windows System Directory, rendering the computer inoperable. Spread by e-mail, the self-propagating virus comes with the subject line "Happy New Year" and an attachment titled CHRISTMAS.EXE. The e-mail message reads (with the first word misspelled): "Hii I can't describe my feelings But all i can say is Happy New Year bye"
Because it is spread by copying itself from victims' Microsoft Outlook e-mail address books, it will look like it's been sent to you by someone you know. That will make you more likely to open it. DO NOT DOWNLOAD THE FILE. "If it were launched in June, many people would be suspicious of it, but since it is the holidays and you may be expecting to receive such greetings from friends and colleagues, you may trust this and receive a gift you aren't exactly expecting," Ian Hameroff, director of antivirus solutions for Computer Associates International Inc., told Reuters. Computer Associates has rated the worm a medium to high risk, while McAfee.com has rated it a low risk.
BEWARE! PC Virus Disables Keyboard
By Cathryn Conroy, CompuServe News Editor
Yet another virus is lurking in e-mail, but more people may fall prey to this one because it looks like a holiday greeting sent by one of your friends. Called the Reeezak worm, it will disable selected keys on the infected PC's keyboard and delete all the files found in the Windows System Directory, rendering the computer inoperable. Spread by e-mail, the self-propagating virus comes with the subject line "Happy New Year" and an attachment titled CHRISTMAS.EXE. The e-mail message reads (with the first word misspelled): "Hii I can't describe my feelings But all i can say is Happy New Year bye"
Because it is spread by copying itself from victims' Microsoft Outlook e-mail address books, it will look like it's been sent to you by someone you know. That will make you more likely to open it. DO NOT DOWNLOAD THE FILE. "If it were launched in June, many people would be suspicious of it, but since it is the holidays and you may be expecting to receive such greetings from friends and colleagues, you may trust this and receive a gift you aren't exactly expecting," Ian Hameroff, director of antivirus solutions for Computer Associates International Inc., told Reuters. Computer Associates has rated the worm a medium to high risk, while McAfee.com has rated it a low risk.
