/ 14 June 1999

MELISSA TURNS INTO A WORM

SOUTH African businesses have been hit on Friday morning with new virus called the “ExploreZip Worm” –causing a number of businesses to shut down their e-mail servers to contain it. The new infection can erase files from users’ computers, making it much more dangerous than the Melissa virus, which gained notoriety for its ability to spread quickly, but did not destroy data. Users should beware of an e-mail that reads: “I received your e-mail, and I shall reply ASAP. Till then, take a look at the zipped docs.” Anyone receiving such a message should delete it immediately.