E-mail virus picks up speed

The spread of the Windows e-mail worm, called Yaha.K, has led anti-virus firms to classify it as a high risk.

The virus has now been reported in 100 countries, predominantly in the UK and the Netherlands, according to MessageLabs which scans messages for viruses.

It spreads by e-mailing itself to everyone in your address book. It may also try to shut down anti-virus programs.

Computer users are being advised to delete any suspect e-mails they receive, as well as updating their anti-virus software.

Love and hate

The virus is a version of the Yaha worm which first appeared in February.

Yaha.K subject lines

The new one was first spotted in an e-mail from Kuwait on 21 December. Since then, MessageLabs says it has stopped 33,487 copies of the virus.

Yaha.K arrives in an e-mail disguises as an .exe or .scr attachment, with a variety of subject lines and messages related to hacking, love, hate and porn.

The terms used in the subject line include Sexy Screensavers 4 U, Wanna be my sweetheart? and The Hotmail Hack.

Virus plague

The worm raids the Windows address book to e-mail itself to your contacts, forging e-mail addresses.

It may also try to shut down security-related software, such as firewalls and anti-virus programs.

Anti-virus firms say the worm may also launch a denial of service attack against a Pakistani Government website, infopak.gov.pk.

E-mail viruses have plagued computer users throughout the year.

Figures from MessageLabs show that one in every 212 e-mails containing a virus in 2002.

This reflects a big increase on previous years. In 2001, the firm stopped an average one every 380 e-mails, while in 2000 the figure was as low as one every 790.