MAY 5TH - 12.00PM *** MEDIA ALERT *** MEDIA ALERT
SYMANTEC OFFERS PROTECTION TO NEW ZEALAND COMPUTER USERS FROM FAST SPREADING INTERNATIONAL 'LOVE LETTER' WORM
WHAT: Researchers at the Symantec AntiVirus Research Center have discovered VBS.LoveLetter.A, an extremely
fast-spreading computer worm that uses mIRC and Microsoft Outlook to e-mail itself as an attachment.
CHARACTERISTICS OF INFECTION: VBS.LoveLetter.A is an Internet worm that uses Microsoft Outlook to spread itself as an
attachment with the subject line "ILOVEYOU" along with an attachment called "LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs."
PAYLOAD: Preliminary finding indicate that the worm sends itself to all addresses in the computer user's Outlook
address book causing mail servers to clog.
The worm will infect files with the following extensions: vbs, vbe, je, jse, css, wsh, sct, hta, jpg, jpeg, mp3, and
mp2.
Additionally, it will delete the following files:
§ MSKernel32.vbs in the Windows system directory
§ Win32DLL.vbs in the Windows directory
§ LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs in the Windows System directory
§ WinFAT32.EXE in the Internet download directory
§ WIN-BUGSFIX.EXE in the Internet download directory
§ Script.ini in the mIRC directory
RECOMMENDATION
/PROTECTION: Symantec Antivirus Research Center (SARC) researchers have analysed this worm and have a complete virus
definition set available at:
· www.symantecstore.com/Pages/Support/CSsupport.html
· www.digitalriver.com/symantec
SYMANTEC ANTIVIRUS RESEARCH CENTER: SARC is one of the industry's largest dedicated team of virus experts. With
offices located in the United States, Japan, Australia, and the Netherlands, the sun never sets on SARC. The center's
mission is to provide swift, global responses to computer virus threats, proactively research and develop technologies
that eliminate such threats, and educate the public on safe computing practices. As new computer viruses appear, SARC
develops identification and detection for these viruses, and provides either a repair or delete operation, thus keeping
users protected against the latest virus threats.
SYMANTEC: Symantec, a world leader in Internet security technology, provides a broad range of content and network
security solutions to individuals and companies. The company is a leading provider of virus protection, risk management,
Internet content and e-mail filtering, and mobile code detection technologies to enterprise customers. Headquartered in
Cupertino, Calif., Symantec has offices worldwide including Auckland.
CONTACT: David Banes
Symantec AntiVirus Research Centre (New Zealand & Australia)
Ph: 0061 29850 1080
Email: dbanes@symantec.com Nimita Morarji
Botica Conroy & Associates
Ph: 09 303 3862
Email: nimitam@bca.co.nz