bassman
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(4/5/04 12:23)
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Sasser Worm
LONDON (Reuters) - The rapidly evolving "Sasser" computer worm is tearing across the Internet disrupting corporate and home computer systems and stoking fears of more potent outbreaks to come.
First detected over the weekend, the worm has already infected, by some estimates, over one million PCs and knocked out computer systems at banks, transport reservation systems and at European Commission offices.
Unlike previous Internet worms, Sasser infects vulnerable PCs without any action by the user like opening attachments, allowing it to spread very quickly.
Home users would likely first notice an infection if their computer mysteriously rebooted or their Internet connection slowed dramatically.
Because of its nature, security experts were warning users to update their PCs with the latest Microsoft patches and install a firewall to keep out future infections.
With businesses throughout parts of Europe returning from the long holiday weekend on Tuesday, anti-virus technicians were expecting a new wave of infections.
"It's still going steady. It will be a big problem for a day or two, then it will linger on the Internet for weeks, and likely years," said Mikko Hypponen, Anti-Virus Research Director at Finnish data security firm F-Secure.
Because Sasser seeks out infectable computers automatically and does not use e-mail to spread, experts said personal machines may be most vulnerable.
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