A virus which appeared to be a love letter from a known person caused massive disruption to computer systems in 2000.
Whereas most e-mail viruses can be avoided simply by not opening e-mail from suspicious sources, this new virus accessed computer e-mail address books to spread itself. Thus the recipient would be less suspicious.
The source of the virus was traced to the Philippines, where an arrest has been made even though hacking is not an offence in that country. It shows how vulnerable computer systems are to viruses, and again emphasis the need for backing up data files. Companies may consider it a wise precaution for sensitive data to be processed on computers not connected to the Internet or any e-mail system.
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