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Are Your JPEGs History?

If you didn't already have antivirus software in place when the Love Bug bit, some utilities can still help. Both CarbonMedia and Script Logic offer cleaning scripts that will try to remove the infected registry entries, .vbs files, and virus application files.

In addition to clogging e-mail networks, the Love Letter virus infects the graphics files with VBS extensions on your system. It destroys your JPEG files. However, MP3 and MP2 files fare better; they're still on the hard drive, just hidden in the directory, Symantec's Martin says. Those can be recovered fairly easily with utilities that restore deleted files.

Also, methods exist to try to recover JPEGs. InProtect can retrieve many of them, Martin says. The program is part of Norton Utilities, priced at $45 for Windows 95/98, and $89.95 for Windows NT.

Another option is EasyRecovery software from Ontrack. This $49 program also promises to help you recover any lost music and graphics files.

Back Up and Prepare

Once you've recovered, it's time to reassess your backup habits and take precautions.

Online storage services are an easy way to protect your crucial files from damage. SkyDesk is promoting a 30-day free trial. After that, it costs $99 yearly for 100MB of storage space on SkyDesk servers. Others, like I-drive.com and Driveway are free of charge.

Countless support sites and recovery services offer tools to better prepare for future attacks.

PCsupport.com, an online technical support service, sent warnings when the attacks began, says Bruce McDonald, PCsupport.com's vice president of operations. "We were able to pre-warn subscribers not to open [infected mail] and attached the proactive support as well as links to antivirus sites."

Adaptec is offering a free 30-day trial of its GoBack system recovery software. Normally priced at $69.95, GoBack tracks changes on your hard disk and maintains them in a queue, says Jean-Eric Garnier, Adaptec's director of marketing for productivity protection products.

"At any time, you can revert the hard disk to the way it was before you lost that document, were hit by that virus, or installed software," Garnier says.

Of course, if you didn't have GoBack when I Love You struck, it won't recover anything the bug destroyed. But it could help with the next hateful mail, even if it's disguised as a love note.

The IDG News Service contributed to this report.