About the Virus
This virus was discovered Jan 26, 2004 and was one of the fastest spreading viruses to date. It propagates through e-mail and will look at the infected user's contacts, inbox and sent mail for addresses that it will randomly combine and send out through SMTP (its own e-mail program).
Do I have the Virus ?
You may get messages saying an e-mail you have sent was rejected because it had a virus. THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE THE VIRUS (see the section below on the signs of infection). It may have come from anyone who had your email address in their incoming mail folders.
Signs of Infection
If the virus runs on your computer, you will have Notepad open with a lot of strange characters as seen below:
If you have seen this you are likely infected.
What if I am Infected ?
On most of the Virus Scan Providers you can download programs to check and remove the virus. These programs are not substitutes for full time virus scanners that should be installed and maintained (kept up to date) on all computers.
Virus software web sites:
McAfee AntiVirus
Norton AntiVirus by Symantec
Trend Micro Computer Associates