Hallo again

  Last week, a new virus invaded computers in Asia and around the world. This virus, named worm_badtrans.B, is actually a variation of the one which attacked computers months ago. According to Trend Micro's World Virus Tracking Center, this new virus has completed more than 20,000 infections since it was born on 25 Nov 2001.

  This new virus hammered my e-mail program, resulting in many e-mails being sent to people who have written to me in the past, thereby spreading itself to them.

  I didn't know my e-mail program was hit by the virus, till an acquaintance on the Internet e-mailed me saying she had opened an e-mail I sent here and couldn't make sense out of the attachment I had sent her.

  She said she opened the e-mail because it carried the editor@getforme.com address - and she trusted my e-mail address.

  That's how these viruses do their damage. They invade the computers of individuals without their knowledge or permission and using the address list stored in these computers, send e-mails, containing viruses to these addresses, knowing pretty well that the receivers of such e-mails would open the e-mails without a moment's hesitation.

  These chaps who design the virus programs sure know how to take advantage of the frailty of human inter-relationships to do their damage.

  I got rid of this virus within a day. It's been a week since this new worm started doing damage to e-mail programs around the world, and going by the inordinately high number of suspect virus e-mails which I receive on this portal, I guess, the virus is still doing its work.

  In the week, I have since learnt to avoid opening e-mails which have in their subject heading: RE: and having a fixed length, i.e. 41 Kbytes). That's the modus operandi of this worm - worm_badtrans.B. If you should receive e-mails with similar "symptoms" - please delete the e-mail immediately. Remember - this worm (type of virus) doesn't even need you to open its attachment in order to infect your computer. It just needs you to open the e-mail itself.

  But if your computer is infected by this new worm, you can get free scanning and killing of the virus ONLINE by visiting: housecall.antivirus.com.