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 | Saturday, May 06, 2000, updated at 10:54(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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Sci-Edu | ||||||||||||
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Nation Unscathed by 'Love Letter' VirusThe "I love you" computer virus, which broke out on Thursday and wreaked havoc across computer systems in Western countries, is not likely to cause as much damage in China as people feared.Despite its sweet name, the self-propagating and destructive virus can slow down e-mail systems, write over important files and even crash computer networks. The virus is activated once the "I love you" e-mail is opened. It then searches for the user's address book and to send itself to everyone listed. However, the "damage may not be serious in China," anti-virus expert Tian Yakui of the Beijing Rising Technology Corp said yesterday. The firm is considered China's leading anti-virus software company. "Our company received only one or two telephone inquiries about the virus today, but we did not see the virus sample yet," Tian said. He said China's lesser dependence on computer networks, as well as the network's comparatively slower processing speed, help cushion the virus attack on institutional computer users in China. Meanwhile, the seven-day holiday, during which most people are away from work, also helped slow the spread of the virus. Tian recommended that computer users watch out for the virus and delete the "I love you" e-mail message immediately without opening it. "The virus won't last long once it's been widely reported, as people won't be so easily fooled into opening the e-mail,"he said. The virus, first reported in Hong Kong, is known to have spread through the Microsoft Outlook e-mail programme and through a popular Internet Relay Chat programme. It is suspected to have originated in Manila. Tian said the virus is worse than the Melissa and Explore.Zip worms that caused chaos last year because "I love you"spreads at a much faster speed. The virus penetrated the US Defence Department and the Central Intelligence Agency and the British Parliament.
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