Watch out for cyber flu
By Rosli Abidin Yahya

The global outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) affects not only people in the real world but also those who regularly surf the Internet.

Anti-virus software houses recently issued a warning of a new computer virus detected that symbolises the current epidemic worldwide.

Known as W32/Coronex-A, the mass-mailer worm forwards itself to all contacts in the Outlook address book and attempts to dupe innocent users into opening an attachment offering details on the SARS.

The mastermind uses a variety of subject lines, message bodies and attachment names to entice users into opening files such as "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome", "SARS Virus" and Hongkong.exe.

The worm has been deliberately coded to exploit the public's concern about SARS, and is just a further demonstration of the ways that virus writers attempt to use psychological trickery to spread their creation, said Sophos, an anti-virus software house in its website.

The anti-virus establishment recommends companies to consider blocking all Windows programs at their email gateway.

There is so little to lose, and so much to gain, simply by blocking all emailed programs, regardless of whether they contain viruses or not, the firm said.

Sophos is one of the world's largest specialist developers of anti-virus software based in the UK.

Courtesy of Sunday Bulletin