Computers fall prey to love bug

LONDON, MAY 5. An e-mail virus ``I love you'', ostensibly created by a truant Filipino schoolboy, caused widespread disruption to computer systems across the world on Thursday.

In Britain, the House of Commons, Barclays Bank, British Telecom, the BBC and News International were among the organisations affected by the virus, which paralysed systems before moving on.

The bug, which attacked computers via the Microsoft Outlook system, originated in Manila. It hit Hong Kong and spread swiftly across time zones to Europe.

In Denmark, Parliament, ministries, and major television companies were affected. The Swiss Government and several banks closed their computer systems as the virus attacked.

As America woke up, Congress was forced to shut down its e-mail system after several Congressmen fell for the virus.

Sophos, one of the leading anti-virus software companies, said the chain letter-style virus had potentially cost British companies millions of pounds. ``Companies have been blitzed by this thing and are switching off their e-mail systems,'' a spokesman said. ``As soon as they do that, they are losing money because they are effectively turning off the cash flow. It's clever because it seems like a love letter and it appears to come from someone you know, so you are very tempted to open it. The costs, depending on the business, will be extremely large. It has spread like wildfire.''

The virus typically arrives from someone with whom the computer operator normally exchanges messages, with the text I LOVE YOU in the subject heading.

When the message is read it invites the recipient to read an ``attachment'', a separate file attached to the e-mail, with the words ``kindly check the attached love letter coming from me.''

The act of opening the ``attachment'' allows the virus to move into the computer system. It adds itself to the Windows directory and to the registry, thereby ensuring that it stays in the system if it is shut down and restarted.

Its next target is the e-mail directory listing the e- mail addresses of the user's regular correspondents. It sends itself to all these, intent on attacking their computer systems, before trying to log on to the Internet and downloading a rogue file, paralysing the system.

The virus then works itself through the computer, deleting certain types of files, particularly those using the popular music and picture formats MP3 and jpg, and replacing them with others.

Major companies producing anti-virus software found an antidote within hours, but not before considerable damage to firms. F- Secure, specialists in anti-virus software, said it appeared to have been created by someone calling himself Spyder, who inserted the message ``I hate go to school'' (sic) in the virus programme. Ms. Margaret Beckett, Leader of the House of Commons, told MPs: ``I have to tell you that sadly this affectionate greeting contains a virus which has immobilised the House's internal communication system.''

- @ Telegraph Group Limited, London, 2000

FBI begins probe

AFP reports from Washington:

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said it has launched a probe into the virus which devastated computers worldwide.

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