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Worm wiggles through Net
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June 11, 1999: 3:32 p.m. ET
FBI says latest computer infection hitting tens of thousands of systems
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The FBI said Friday it was investigating the latest computer infection to sweep across the Internet, which the bureau said has affected tens of thousands of computer systems in major U.S. corporations.
The Explore.Zip worm has the potential to erase files from a computer's hard drive or corporate network, making it a particularly insidious infection. Several major companies, including Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Boeing Co. (BA), were forced to disable their e-mail systems temporarily to remove all traces of the worm.
Computer virus experts said Explore.Zip uses techniques employed by the Melissa e-mail virus, which infected more than 100,000 computers worldwide in March.
"Unlike Melissa, this one [Explore.Zip] does destroy data," said Enrique Salem, chief technology officer at Symantec Corp. (SYMC), which makes the Norton AntiVirus software program.
Virus vs. worm
Unlike a virus, which attaches itself to a software program and cannot be spread without users sending them to others, a worm propagates over a network, reproducing itself as it goes along. Also, a worm can't attach itself to other programs.
Explore.Zip, which was first detected Sunday in Israel, is disguised as an e-mail that appears to be a response to an earlier message, reading: "I received your e-mail, and I shall reply ASAP. Till then, take a look at the zipped docs.''
Explore.Zip can destroy files on a computer's hard drive or corporate network, or disrupt an e-mail server, after a user opens the file attached to the message.
"In many cases, that data is unrecoverable," said Steve White, IBM (IBM) head of antivirus research.
Michael Vatis, director of the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center, warned all e-mail users to exercise caution for the next few days.
Computer users can download updates from leading antivirus software makers. Salem noted that Symantec hosted about three times as many downloads as usual from its Web site on Friday morning.
Although the FBI is investigating the Explorer.Zip infection, White noted that tracking down the worm's author will be difficult.
"There are about 40,000 known viruses in the world today," he said, "but we know the authors of almost none."
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