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New Sasser Worm Can Enter Your PC Just By Going On The Net
New Internt Worm Infecting Millions of Computers
STOCKHOLM (AFP) - A new Internet worm is spreading worldwide and has probably already infected millions of computers, a Finnish anti-virus expert told AFP.
The Sasser worm can infect any computer that is switched on and connected to an Internet service provider, and unlike most other worms or viruses is not spread by email, said Mikko Hyppoenen, head of anti-virus research at the Finnish Internet security firm F-Secure.
"This is one of few worms that spreads automatically. It is enough for your PC to be on," he told AFP in a telephone interview from Helsinki.
The worm typically shuts down the computer then automatically re-boots it, repeating the procedure several times. Hyppoenen said computers behind a firewall should be spared from the attack.
Sasser was first observed at 0001 GMT Saturday, and was infecting computers that had not installed the latest Microsoft software update in the past 18 days.
Installing the patch fixes the problem, but many users may find that difficult because their computer keeps on shutting down, Hyppoenen said.
He expected the number of computers affected by the worm to increase dramatically on Monday, when employees who had worked on laptop computers at home over the weekend returned to work and hooked them up to the office network.
The antivirus company Symantec said on its website that Sasser spreads by scanning Internet computers for "vulnerable systems" -- computers that were permanently connected to their Internet service provider.
Since laptops are not protected by company firewall systems if used on another server than the company's, they would run the risk of being infected, and in turn infect the company's network when used Monday in the office.
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