Campus computer users--beware. On Dec. 13 a virus might strike your computer.
Residents of Leverett House were alerted last Friday that two computers in the House's computer lab had been infected with "W97M/Thus," a new virus that spreads through Microsoft Word files.
The virus threatens to delete the computer hard drives of owners who open infected files on Monday, Dec. 13.
According to campus computer experts, the virus is thought only to affect PCs and possibly only computers with Microsoft Word 97.
Rick Osterberg '96, with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Computer Services, said the virus spreads through Microsoft Word documents. It infects the Microsoft Word program and also taints any documents saved with that copy of Word.
So if a student had opened a document on one of the infected House computers, then opened that document at home, the virus could be transmitted to the personal computer.
"Clearly, this is a destructive virus, if it lives up to its reputation," Osterberg said, referring to Dec. 13, when the virus is supposed to delete infected hard drives.
After the virus was identified with virus protection software, a Leverett User Assistant (UA) sent an e-mail message to all House residents warning them that the virus had almost certainly spread to some students' home computers.
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