A variant on the LoveBug virus has been detected by a leading antivirus software house, Symantec. The VBS.NewLove.A is a worm, and spreads by sending itself to all addresses in the Outlook address book when it is activated. The attachment name is chosen at random, but will always have a .vbs extension.

The subject header will begin with "FW: " and will include the name of the randomly chosen attachment (excluding the .vbs extension).

Upon each infection, the worm introduces up to 10 new lines of randomly generated comments in order to prevent detection. But that's not all it does. It overwrites files and renders the computer system inoperable.

It is recommended that computer email users check with senders before opening any attached files.

This new virus is more dangerous that the original lovebug as the subject heading is variable, so recipients of e-mails beginning with "FW:" should be alert.

Also known as: VBS/Loveletter.ed, VBS/Loveletter.Gen, VBS_SPAMMER, VBS.Loveletter.FW.A.

Norton Anti-Virus users may download the latest fix at:
Symantic Anti-Virus Research Center. PC-cillan users and others may download fixes at Trend Micro, Inc.

Microsoft is offering updates to its Outlook software that make it more difficult to inadvertantly launch attachments. The updates provide a more explicit warning dialogue, and prevent attached executables from being launched directly from e-mails; instead, they must be saved to disk and launched as a separate step. Download an update to your Outlook software at Microsoft's VBS/Loveletter Virus site.

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