I just received this message from our LSU Web Master. So be warned. (Mac users are exempt we think) Maradee ** Latest Worm Attacks Antivirus Apps A new Visual Basic Script virus is rapidly spreading via E- mail and the ICQ instant-messaging system, shutting down most antivirus and desktop security apps. The worm, dubbed the Goner virus, greets targets with the subject "Hi" and the text reads: "How are you? When I saw this screensaver, I immediately thought about you. I am in a hurry, I promise you will love it!" What users really download is Gone.scr, a copy of the compressed worm. If the file is opened, the worm tries to destroy all security apps. A back door is installed, linked to an Internet Relay Chat program, and the app can be used to launch denial-of-service attacks against Internet Relay Chat servers. "This thing is spreading far faster than Badtrans," says Russ Cooper, surgeon general with security firm TruSecure Corp., referring to another mass-mailer virus that struck users hard over Thanksgiving weekend. Secure E-mail company MessageLabs says it has stopped more than 30,000 copies of Goner with its antivirus software, and the company is seeing Goner arrive with one out of every 30 E-mails. According to MessageLabs, the Love Bug virus arrived with one out of every 28 E-mails. Most antivirus vendors placed Goner as a medium risk earlier in the day, but by late Tuesday afternoon it became apparent that Goner was spreading faster than many expected. "We don't know why it's spreading so fast," Cooper says. "Anyone who experienced Badtrans would have protected against .scr attachments. "He says Goner has hit many large companies hard. "Very few people block attachments at the gateway. And desktop users did not have their antivirus updated, so it reached critical mass." Given the risks, many experts are surprised that companies let potentially dangerous attachments enter their E-mail systems. - George V. Hulme Read more virus-related coverage at Dangerous New Virus, Same Old Hole http://update.informationweek.com/cgi-bin4/flo?y=eFGi0BiMyw0V20bSk0Aj Virus Definition Update Rings False Alarm On Nimda http://update.informationweek.com/cgi-bin4/flo?y=eFGi0BiMyw0V20aAT0A2