Posted on 08/02/2003 6:34:13 PM PDT by mdittmar
Microsoft Warns Users of Internet Explorer About Computer Worm That Exploits Flaw in Browser
Microsoft Corp. is warning its customers about a computer worm that exploits a flaw in its Internet Explorer browser.
A security bulletin on the company's Web site says Microsoft started investigating a "mass mailer worm," dubbed W32/Mimail(at)MM, late Friday morning.
The worm spreads through e-mail if recipients open an attached zip file used to condense information so it can move faster over the Internet then open an HTML file inside the zip file, the bulletin said.
The work exploits a vulnerability the company addressed in a security bulletin issued April 23, the bulletin said.
On Saturday, Microsoft spokesman Sean Sundwall downplayed the worm's potential to cause major security problems.
If someone opens the e-mail, the zip file and the HTML file, the virus is sent to all e-mail addresses the worm finds on that computer, Sundwall said.
"The damage is simply an annoying e-mail," Sundwall said.
Microsoft's Web site directs customers to a security patch designed to fix the problem.
On the Net:
Microsoft: www.microsoft.com/security
People have also been warned that they will be injured if they load a gun then point it at themselves and pull the trigger.
Additionally, they have been warned not to douse themselves with gasoline, then light matches.
ISP's should send a .zip file to all of their users, containing an html file that sends the user's e-mail address back to them when they open the attachment. Anyone who opens it will automatically have their account suspended for a month. Likewise, IT managers at businesses should send an attachment to all employees from some strange e-mail address, and any of them that open it should be promptly fired.
Oh, you'll love this one.
Two young women in the village of Gambell narrowly escaped serious injury one night recently when they used a cigarette lighter to check the fuel level in a four-wheeler's tank while stealing gasoline at the village's fuel depot, Alaska State Troopers said Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, the two women received e-mails from an unknown address with a .zip file attachment. Even though they did not know what was in the file and why they received it, they opened the attachment anyway and discovered it contained an HTML file. Even though they did not know what the HTML file contained, they opened it anyway. Their computer was infected with a virus and they blamed Microsoft.
They got on their four-wheelers and were on their way to Redmond to yell at Bill Gates when they discovered they had no gas and had to steal it.
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