ES - virus warning: "melissa"

Paul Mitchell Paul_Mitchell at Filemaker.com
Mon Mar 29 07:13:13 PST 1999


OK, this is a real virus going around.  It won't damage
your computer, but it can be an annoyance.  If you use
Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express, or MSWord '97 or
higher, please take note.  ABC Radio was covering
this when I got up this morning (Mon., 3/29/99).  The
biggest problems it presents affect networks, not
individual users.

J'Lynn Yeates, who authored the message below, is a
member of the Barony of Bryn Gwlad and is a regular 
poster to the Ansteorra list; I can't speak to his 
credentials, but the attached note is a clear 
explanation of the facts of the case as I understand 
them.

More information is availabe at the links below.

- Galen

---------------- Begin Forwarded Message ----------------
Date:        03/28  4:09 PM
Received:    03/29  8:49 AM
From:        j'lynn yeates, jyeates at realtime.net

this is NOT a hoax:

the "melissa" variant has started making it's appearances widely in 
corporate 
email systems and security specialists expect it to break into the 
general 
internet population in the the next few weeks.  in the words of the 
McAfee anti-
virus folk,  "this is the fastest spreading virus we have seen"

note that this virus appears to do no harm, but is a major nusience as it 
clogs 
email systems and users inbox's.  the most probbaly damage is that it 
replicates so quickly that it overwhelms and possibly crashes email 
servers.

so far, the virus seems limited to Outlook and Outlook Express users.

if you receive a message over the next few weeks with the following 
header:

"important message from "name"", where names is someone who would have 
you in 
their email addres book, delete it .... it will contain text with 
something 
along the lines of "here's that document you asked for ..." and a 
attached Word 
file.  this file contains a macro virus that will scan for names in your 
address book, and replicate itself to the entries (up to 50).

microsoft has a patch available at:

www.microsoft.com/securities/bulletins/ms99-002.asp

for more information: 

www.cert.org/advisories/CA-99-04-Melissa-Macro-Virus.html

<signature snipped>

----------------- End Forwarded Message -----------------
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