News

May 9, 2001 - "Homepage" Email Virus

A Highly Infectious Worm is Circulating the Globe

Another worm virus called Homepage has been discovered today that has 
the potential to spread even faster than its predecessors. The virus has
been reported as early as Tuesday late afternoon.

An infected email will have the subject "Homepage," a message that 
says "Hi! You've got to see this page! It's really cool ;O)" and an 
attachment called "homepage.html.vbs." 

Variations of the Homepage virus will be in the following form:
  • VBS.VBSWG2.D@mm
  • VBS.HomePage
  • I-Worm.Homepage
  • VBSWG.X
  • VBSWG.X@MM
  • VBS/VBSWG-X
  • VBS_HomePage.A
  • If you see such a file or an email remotely close, even from a sender you know, DO NOT OPEN the email. DELETE the email immediately. The worm virus searches for email addresses in Microsoft Outlook, then deletes subject headers with "Homepage", modifies the registry key, and then goes as far as opening a pornographic web page. To read more about the virus and for virus removal instructions, go to Symantec's Antivirus Research Centre (SARC) at: http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w95.hybris.gen.html To prevent such a virus attack, remember to update your antivirus program and scan your hard drive on a weekly basis. If you have any questions on the above, please feel free to contact The Internet Centre or email us at info@incentre.net.