23 - 29 November 2000

Love is in the air – again

by David Kelleher

A new virus is on the loose and, like the notorious Love Bug, is aimed at those who like romantic e-mails. Anti-virus firm GFI has discovered the Romeo and Juliet bug and claim it is particularly dangerous because current virus scanners cannot detect it.
The virus is transported by an HTML e-mail containing malicious code, an executable file called My Romeo and a compiled help file (.chm) called My Juliet. The HTML code automatically runs an executable file. It then spreads across the Internet by connecting to a number of open relay sites.
“The Romeo and Juliet virus takes e-mail viruses to alarming new dimensions, as it cannot be detected by anti-virus programs,” said Nick Galea, CEO of GFI.
“It seems to rely on HTML scripts to run an executable file without user intervention. The only way to protect your network against the Romeo and Juliet virus is to block it at server level using a content checking e-mail gateway like Mail essentials, which can be set to filter all mails containing HTML scripts, as well as .chm and .exe attachments.”
Mr Galea added: “The e-mail viruses emerging today are becoming more complex and are proving ever harder for traditional anti-virus programs to safeguard against. It is no longer enough to rely on anti-virus software alone for protection against e-mail viruses and attacks. Organisations should invest in multi-layered e-mail security to have both anti-virus and content checking filters at server level.”