By Polly Raymond, 30 March 1999 00:30
NEWS UK companies are under siege this morning from Melissa - the prolific virus that is ravaging corporate America. Security specialist, Network Associates says it has been inundated with distress calls from major clients concerned about the virus. The firm's product manager, Jack Clark, said: "I've never seen anything like it. It's the first time all our support staff have been speaking to customers who are actually seriously infected. Normally, they are just worried users ringing up about how to avoid infection." Melissa spreads through Microsoft's Word and Outlook software. It copies itself into Word documents via their underlying template and then sends itself to 50 addresses from each user's Outlook address book. A representative of one company currently fighting the virus told Silicon.com: "Most companies are seriously under threat - I should think everyone will have it soon." He added that many firms are vulnerable because it defies most popular anti-virus programs. Melissa's main threat is to email servers. Because each infection triggers the release of 50 emails, the traffic created can quickly clog up large corporate servers. Clark agreed that only larger companies using Microsoft Exchange servers will be seriously affected. Raj Panaser, Exchange product manager at Microsoft, said the company should not be blamed for the virus. "It's hardly surprising that virus writers target Microsoft software, because it's pervasive," he said, adding that Melissa just highlights the need for more caution and protection when setting up corporate systems. The US government's CIAC (Computer Incident Advisory Capability) Web site, at http://www.ciac.org offers comprehensive details on how to tackle Melissa.
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