From: Linda (joelinda1@home.com)
Date: Thu Aug 24 2000 - 15:47:05 PDT
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-2602292.html
Top Pokemon creature triggers email virus
By Bloomberg News
August 24, 2000, 9:20 a.m. PT
LONDON--A slow-spreading computer virus attached to a Japanese
"Pokemon" animated character has damaged computers at a small
number of U.S. companies over the past two months, said
executives at an antivirus software company.
The virus, labeled "Pokemon Pikachu," spreads to people through
Microsoft Outlook email attachments or through Microsoft's
Internet Explorer browser, said Eric Chien, chief researcher
for Symantec's antivirus research center.
The victim who downloads the attachment sees an animation of the
Pikachu character from Nintendo's Pokemon video game and releases
a virus that automatically sends copies of the message to everyone
on the person's address book. Then, the next time that person
turns on the computer, the virus deletes all the Microsoft Windows
files, including operating files.
While the virus is a variant of the "I Love You" bug that struck
an estimated 45 million computers in May, virus fighters say
companies have little cause for concern.
"We see it as a relatively low threat" because the virus has spread
only to a handful of companies in the United States since it was
first discovered to have originated in the Asia/Pacific region June 28,
Chien said. "The problem is that causes quite a bit of damage."
Companies that have up-to-date antivirus software should be protected
against the Pokemon Pikachu virus, Chien said. The few companies that
have been victims didn't have antivirus software in operation, he
said.
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