FYI
73,
Don Milbury, W6YN
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This press release comes from F-Secure. For more information on F-Secure's mailing list policy, see end of message.
F-SECURE WARNS: LOVE LETTER E-MAIL WORM might exceed Melissa in severity
ESPOO, Finland, May 4th, 2000 - F-Secure Corporation (formerly Data Fellows) [HEX: FSC], a leading provider of security for mobile, distributed enterprises, is warning e-mail users of a new destructive e-mail worm called VBS/LoveLetter. This worm spreads by e-mailing a file called LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs around. F-Secure Anti-Virus detects and disinfects the virus, with the latest update available from www.F-Secure.com .
"This worm spreads at an amazing speed", comments Mikko Hypponen, Manager of Anti-Virus Research at F-Secure Corporation. "We got the first report around 9:00 a.m. on Thursday from Norway, and by 1 p.m. we had reports from over 20 countries. We estimate that total number of infected machines is already in tens of thousands. This epidemic might exceed Melissa in both speed and destructiveness."
The LoveLetter worm activates by overwriting picture and music files from the local and network drives. Files with extension JPG, JPEG, MP3 and MP2 are overwritten and will have to be restored from backups.
The worm arrives to users in e-mail message attachments called LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs. On a default Windows system, the ".vbs" extension is not visible, and users might mistake the file for a harmless text file (.TXT). If the recipient opens the attachment, the worm will use Microsoft Outlook (if installed) to send a message to everyone in any address books (including global access books of the organization these typically contains hundreds or thousands of addresses). The messages is as follows:
From: Name-of-the-infected-user To: Random-name-from-the-address-book Subject: ILOVEYOU
kindly check the attached LOVELETTER coming from me.
Attachment: LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs
As address books typically contain group addresses, the result of executing the VBS/LoveLetter worm inside an organization is that the first infected user sends the message to everybody in the organization. After this, other users open the message and send the message again to everyone else. This quickly overloads e-mail servers.
In addition to spreading over e-mail, the worm also overwrites existing local script and HTML files with its own code.
The worm was most likely written in the Philippines. It was first spotted in early morning, Thursday May 4. It contains the following text:
barok -loveletter(vbe) <i hate go to school> by: spyder / ispyder@mail.com / @GRAMMERSoft Group / Manila,Philippines
VBS/LoveLetter is written in the VBScript language. By default, programs written in VBScript operate only under Windows 98 and Windows 2000. However, Windows 95 and NT 4 users are also vulnerable, if they have installed version 5 of Microsoft Internet Explorer.
A technical description of the virus is available in the F-Secure virus description database at: http://www.F-Secure.com/v-descs/love.htm
Sample pictures of e-mail messages generated by VBS/LoveLetter are available in the F-Secure virus screenshots center at: http://www.F-Secure.com/virus-info/v-pics/
About F-Secure Corporation
F-Secure Corporation is a leading developer of centrally managed security solutions for the mobile, distributed enterprise. The company offers a full range of award-winning integrated anti-virus, file encryption, distributed firewall and VPN solutions. F-Secure products and the underlying policy management framework enable corporate IT departments as well as service providers to deliver Security as a Service(tm). For the end-user, Security as a Service is invisible, automatic, reliable, always-on, and up-to-date. For the administrator, Security as a Service means policy-based management, instant alerts, and centralized management of a widely-distributed user base.
Founded in 1988, F-Secure is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange [HEX: FSC]. The company is headquartered in Espoo, Finland with North American headquarters in San Jose, California, as well as offices in Canada, China (Hong Kong and Beijing), France, Germany, Japan, Sweden and the United Kingdom. F-Secure is supported by a network of VARs and Distributors in over 90 countries around the globe.
For more information, please contact
USA: F-Secure Inc. Mr. Dan Takata, Manager, Training Division, Professional Services 675 N. First Street, 5th Floor San Jose, CA 95112 Tel. +1 408 938 6700, Fax +1 408 938 6701 e-mail Dan.Takata@F-Secure.com
Finland: F-Secure Corporation Mr. Mikko Hypponen, Manager, Anti-Virus Research. PL 24 FIN-02231 ESPOO Tel +358 9 8599 0513 Fax +358 9 8599 0599 E-mail: Mikko.Hypponen@F-Secure.com
Note to Editors: Further technical information and a screenshot of the virus is available at: http://www.F-Secure.com/virus-info/v-pics/
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Marita Nasman-Repo tel: +358 9 8599 0613 Communicator fax : +358 9 8599 0599 mobile: +358 40 517 4613
F-Secure Corporation http://www.F-Secure.com
F-Secure products: Security for the mobile, distributed enterprise __________________________________________________
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Donald L Milbury