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By Lisa Burroughes, 12 March 1999 00:25

NEWS IT managers are being warned to be on guard for a deadly computer virus that could seriously affect machines and networks on 26 April. The Independent Computer Security Association (ICSA) has endorsed the warning. It says the virus - known as CIH - is capable of overwriting the hard drive as well as the flash Bios (basic input/output system), which makes it particularly dangerous. Roger Thompson, technical director for malicious code research at ICSA, said: "This is definitely something that people have to pay attention to. The ICSA doesn't normally draw attention to viruses but this one is different. The 26th April is on a Monday so a lot of people will be switching on their machines. If the virus is in the computer it will definitely overwrite the hard drive and although the bios is less easily affected it would be a lot more catastrophic." He advised IT managers to back up their data and upgrade their anti-virus software, adding that once the virus gets into a machine it can easily spread to the whole network. Anti-virus company, Sophos also believes the long running variant is one of the most deadly to have hit the computing industry. A previous strain was detected in May 1998 that only affected the bios and was timed to detonate on the 26th of each month,. Sophos said in a written statement: "It detonates its warhead. The warhead wipes out your hard disk, and then tries to overwrite the computer's bios chip. Once the bios is overwritten, you will be unable to use your computer at all." The ICSA said newsgroups with infected downloadable programs are largely responsible for the widespread infection of the virus.