The virus, for which Microsoft has already issued a patch, is activated whenever a user visits a newsgroup controlled by a "hacking collective," which has not yet been identified. A twist is that Microsoft’s Outlook Express need not be open to download the virus, which then poses a catastrophic threat to the user’s PC.
The virus opens a window that allows a hacker to create user accounts as well as view and delete files. Still, flaws in the virus code and the fact that significant user intervention is required to download it make the worm hard to get.
A Microsoft representative said the Outlook Express vulnerability has been found in releases 5.5 and 6.0 for Windows 2000, XP and Server 2003 machines. As in previous incidents, Microsoft urged victims to report attacks to itself and the FBI.
Viruses are less common for software and hardware with fewer users, such as Macintosh or the browser Firefox, but all computers are equally susceptible to spyware and similar malware. The security firm iDefense recommends that all users purchase or renew their subscriptions to one of the larger anti-virus program developers.
