Sircam worm unlikely to hit hard on Tuesday says Sophos

Nimda virus was Sircam's worst
enemy, says Sophos Anti-Virus
Sophos, a world leader in
corporate anti-virus protection,
today responded to warnings in
the media that the infamous
Sircam worm could wipe data from
millions of computers on
Tuesday.

"Because the Nimda virus
outbreak was so furious around
the world, most companies and
individuals have now updated
their anti-virus protection,"
said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos
Anti-Virus. "In doing so they
have also ensured they are
protected against Sircam. In
many ways the author of Sircam
must be rueing the day Nimda was
released."

The Sircam worm, which first appeared in July, has been programmed with a 1 in 20 chance to delete all files on infected computers' hard drives on October 16th. Since the Sircam worm emerged businesses have also been hit hard by the fast-spreading Nimda virus which appeared in September.

Sophos notes that despite Sircam additionally being programmed with a 1 in 50 payload of filling up hard drives with a junk message about Mexico on ANY day of the year, very few customers have reported this happening on their computer.

Sophos originally issued protection against the Sircam worm on July 18 2001. Sophos recommends users follow safe computing guidelines and ensure their anti-virus software is kept up to date.

Sophos technical support continues to receive a significant number of calls from computer users affected by the W32/Sircam-A worm, first reported in July 2001.

"It's hard to believe people are still being infected by this virus when it is so easy to stop through up-to-date anti-virus software," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos Anti-Virus. "Sircam can cause particular problems for businesses because of the way it breaches company confidentiality by distributing documents and spreadsheets found on your hard disk."

Sophos first issued an advisory and protection to customers against W32/Sircam-A on 18 July 2001, and recommends users subscribe to its free notification service regarding new virus threats discovered in the wild.

SNP.