Security threats Toolkit

Virus writer says 'I love you' again

Tags:
ILOVEYOU

Dan Ilet ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 22 Feb 2005 11:35 GMT

Five years after the world fell victim to the ILOVEYOU email virus, a malware writer is trying the same trick on unsuspecting users.

Antivirus experts unearthed a mass-mailing worm on Tuesday, dubbed Assiral, that mimics the Love Bug virus which became famous for luring people into opening an email entitled "ILOVEYOU". The original Love Bug wrought havoc among networks around the world, but experts don't think Assiral will be as destructive.

"The Assiral worm uses an old trick to seduce users into believing they may have received a romantic love letter," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "It's almost five years since the infamous Love Bug worm fooled millions of Windows users around the world using a similar tactic -- and it seems unlikely that Assiral will have anything like as much impact."

Assiral emails are sent with the subject line "LOV YA!" and contain text asking the reader to open the attachment. A typical example can be seen below:

The attachment also includes this message:

If the attached file is launched, the worm opens a Web page hosted at Geocities and attempts to send itself to contacts in the users Outlook address book.