Quantcast
PCWorld.com is upgrading some back-end systems. Some site features, such as user registration, may be temporarily unavailable.
Subscribe to magazine

Melissa-Like Virus Lurks

Antivirus vendors warn of e-mail bearing "Killer Resume" and a virus.

James Niccolai, IDG News Service

  • 0 Yes
  • 0 No
Antivirus software vendors warn that yet another variant of the Melissa virus is making the rounds. Dubbed Killer Resume, the virus surfaced Friday morning in at least ten large U.S. businesses, according to antivirus software vendor McAfee.

The virus is carried in an e-mail with an attachment called either Resume.doc or Explorer.doc. If a user opens the attachment, the virus e-mails itself to all of the names in a user's Microsoft Outlook address book. When the attachment is closed, the virus sets about deleting files on the user's hard drive, say McAfee.com representatives.

The first reports of Killer Resume came in this morning, says Sal Viveros, director of McAfee.com's active virus defense group. Most of the reports were in the Midwestern United States, including one large company in Chicago, leading Viveros to suspect that that's where the virus originated. No sightings have surfaced outside of the United States.

"Tuesday will be the biggest issue, because that's when people come back to work," Viveros said. Monday is a nationwide holiday in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

McAfee assigns Killer Resume a medium-risk assessment, although if the virus starts to spread more quickly the firm will upgrade it to high risk. The full name assigned to the virus is W97M/Melissa.bg@MM, although it also goes by the alias Melissa.bg.

Fixes Available

Users who receive an e-mail containing the virus are advised to delete it immediately, and all users should update to the latest version of their antivirus software, Viveros says. McAfee.com has posted a fix in its Update Clinic section of its Web site.

Symantec's Antivirus Research Center has also posted an update to Norton AntiVirus that combats the Melissa variant. It notes that the virus also travels under the names ResumeWorm and W97M.Resume.A.

Another antivirus vendor, Trend Micro, has updated its PC-cillin antivirus software to detect and deflect the new virus, as well.

The hacker responsible for the virus probably started with a copy of the Melissa virus and altered it slightly to create Killer Resume, Viveros says. "It's a case of copycat," he adds.

The Melissa virus hit computer networks around the world in March 1999 and caused an estimated $80 million in damages, mostly in terms of compensating network administrators for the time they spent cleaning up the fallout after the virus activated.

  • Recommend this story?
  • 0 Yes
    0 No
  • Great year-end deals
    for small business!

  • Get 24/7 live remote AT&T Tech Support 360* service along with select Lenovo* PCs (with Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processors) and save up to 200!

    Learn more

  • HP EliteBook* 6930p Notebook with Intel® vPro™ technology and a free HP Basic Docking Station - $641 instant savings!

    Learn more

  • *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. ©2009 Intel Corporation. Intel, the Intel logo, vPro and Core trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries. All rights reserved.

Dell End of Year Deals

People who read this also read:

  • 15 Minutes to a Secure Business Get the Secure in 15 toolkit starting with the "15 Minutes Month-at-a-Glance" calendar. McAfee will send you additional tools and tricks to stay protected around the clock.
  • A Buyer's Guide to Data Protection Implementing data protection products and processes can be daunting. Make the right decisions by exploring what is available and what makes sense for your organization. Use this simple guide to evaluate different vendor offerings.

Sponsored Links