Babylonia virus strikes chat rooms

NEWS Security experts are warning Internet chat room users of a virus which aims to take advantage of millennium-bug fears by claiming to offer a Y2K fix. Called Babylonia, the virus is distributed through Internet Relay Chat meeting forums via the widely used text-based MIRC application. Babylonia differentiates itself from the current spate of seasonal viruses through its ability to mutate itself each time an infected machine connects to the Net. The virus connects to a server in Japan and downloads updated "plug-in" information from the virus author. Alex Shipp, virus technologist at Star Internet, said that although the virus is at present, "more of a threat to home users than corporate networks," it could soon spread to company intranets. Shipp said updated patches are available from virus companies, but added that once Babylonia infects a machine, it could prove difficult to detect due its ability to mutate. US wires report that two Fortune-500 companies have already been struck by the virus, but add that it has been impossible to determine how many independent desktop machines had been infected.