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

Goner Worm Causes Only Minimal Damage

Latest mass-mailer worm isn't nearly as damaging as last year's infamous Love Letter.

Joris Evers, IDG News Service

  • 0 Yes
  • 0 No

Dealing with the Goner e-mail worm that surfaced earlier this week hasn't cost businesses around the world much money because systems were secured, research firm Computer Economics says.

The worldwide economic impact of Goner is estimated to be $5 million as of December 6, most of which is cleanup costs for organizations that did not have updated antivirus software, according to a statement on the Computer Economics Web site. Only 10 percent of the amount is for loss in productivity, the research firm estimates.

About 800,000 computers worldwide received the Goner worm, but only a few systems were infected because antivirus software vendors pushed virus-definition updates to their customers before Goner was able to spread, Computer Economics says.

About 124,500 systems worldwide were infected by Goner at noon Amsterdam time, according to the Web site of antivirus software vendor Trend Micro.

Goner is small potatoes compared with the Love Bug or Love Letter worm, the mother of all mass-mailer worms that hit the Internet early last year and cost businesses an estimated $8.75 billion, according to Computer Economics.

Antivirus software vendors started sounding the alarm about Goner on Tuesday. The worm was said to be spreading as quickly as the Love Bug.

The Goner worm is disguised as a screen saver and comes as an e-mail attachment. Once opened it attempts to send itself to all addresses in the address book of Microsoft's Outlook and Outlook Express. It tries to delete security software and can spread via instant messaging programs ICQ and Internet Relay Chat.

  • 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