HELSINKI, Finland -- A new, fast-spreading version of the Mydoom worm destroys files on computers worldwide as it increases attacks via e-mails, Finnish computer security experts warned Thursday.
The "Mydoom.F" worm, discovered on Feb. 20, has so far infected about 5 percent of all Internet e-mail traffic, said Mikko Hypponen, director of research at a leading antivirus company F-Secure.
"It remained quiet over the weekend and then started to spread fast early this week as e-mail messaging speeded up after the normal weekend lull," Hypponen said. "It's very worrying because it destroys files and important documents, whereas the earlier Mydoom worms used computers simply as vehicles."
Two previous versions of the virus, Mydoom.A and Mydoom.B, were programmed to strike Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating systems and to launch a worldwide attack on the Web site of SCO, one of the largest UNIX vendors in the world.
Mydoom.A is still the most active virus on the Internet, infecting some 7 percent of all e-mails, Hypponen said. Launched on Jan. 26, it hit more than half of all e-mails worldwide at its peak.
The "Mydoom.F" worm, discovered on Feb. 20, has so far infected about 5 percent of all Internet e-mail traffic, said Mikko Hypponen, director of research at a leading antivirus company F-Secure.
"It remained quiet over the weekend and then started to spread fast early this week as e-mail messaging speeded up after the normal weekend lull," Hypponen said. "It's very worrying because it destroys files and important documents, whereas the earlier Mydoom worms used computers simply as vehicles."
Two previous versions of the virus, Mydoom.A and Mydoom.B, were programmed to strike Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating systems and to launch a worldwide attack on the Web site of SCO, one of the largest UNIX vendors in the world.
Mydoom.A is still the most active virus on the Internet, infecting some 7 percent of all e-mails, Hypponen said. Launched on Jan. 26, it hit more than half of all e-mails worldwide at its peak.
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