Hey All,
There's another new virus attack happening:
> New Virus Strikes E-Mail Systems
>
> By D. IAN HOPPER
> .c The Associated Press
>
> WASHINGTON (June 20) - A new computer virus, which looks like a harmless
text
> file, has caused shutdowns of the e-mail systems at four Fortune 100
> companies, anti-virus experts said Monday.
>
> The virus does no harm to computer files, but similar to May's ''Love
Bug''
> virus, simply multiplies by sending itself out to everyone listed in the
> infected computer's address book.
>
> While users are well-warned about VisualBasic attachments, which appear as
> ''.vbs'' extensions, the so-called ''Stages'' virus looks like a text
file,
> complete with ''.txt'' extension. But the real extension is ''.shs,''
which
> stands for Windows Shell Scrap Object. A Scrap file can contain anything,
> including executable and malicious code.
>
> The ''.shs'' extension does not appear even if a user sets Windows to show
> all file extensions. Microsoft designed this extension to be invisible,
and
> it cannot be changed without entering the operating system's most fragile
> configuration systems.
>
> The virus hit companies in the United States by Friday and began appearing
in
> Australia and Asia over the weekend, said David Perry of Trend Micro Inc.,
a
> maker of anti-virus software.
>
> Since then, makers of the popular McAfee anti-virus program have
reclassified
> ''Stages'' as a larger threat, and said more than 100 of their customers -
> many major companies and almost all based in the United States - reported
> infections. One company had more than 5,000 individual users infected.
>
> ''Due to the infection rate, we're moving it to 'high risk,''' said Sal
> Viveros, a spokesman for McAfee.
>
> Viveros said an analysis of the virus showed that it was signed by someone
> named ''Zulu,'' the same author that wrote the ''Bubbleboy'' virus that
> appeared last year.
>
> ''Stages'' uses Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express mail programs to
spread,
> but it can also infect through chat rooms or America Online's ICQ instant
> messaging software.
>
> The e-mail message contains ''funny,'' ''life stages'' or ''jokes'' in the
> subject line. The text of the message reads ''the male and female stages
of
> life,'' with an attachment, ''life-stages.txt'' or
''life-stages.txt.shs.''
> The attachment contains a joke about advancing age.
>
> Surprisingly, an anti-virus vendor first warned users about the threat of
> stealthy ''.shs'' files containing viruses in August 1998. But this is the
> first reported ''.shs'' virus, according to virus experts.
>
> Anti-virus companies have issued software updates to catch the new virus
and
> are encouraging businesses to filter incoming mail and delete attachments
> with the ''.shs'' suffix.
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