Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 21, 1994 TAG: 9412210110
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITE|
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The NewBug virus and two other pesky electronic bugs have been discovered on only 17 of 400 computers tested so far. The viruses haven't destroyed any data, said Archie Harrington, city information systems manager.
The cure, however, is likely to cost a bit more than the average medicine: up to $4,000, Harrington said. That will pay for a virus search-and-destroy program, which acts as a sort of electronic vaccine.
Harrington briefed City Council on the virus and efforts to eradicate it during council's meeting Monday.
"It's really the computer equivalent of a common cold, rather than pneumonia," Vice Mayor John Edwards said after the briefing.
The NewBug virus was discovered Dec.8 after a school employee retrieved some borrowed disks from the municipal auditor. A PC in that office had infected the disks, and the bug was spotted by an automatic virus detection program. It sent Municipal Auditor Bob Bird and other city employees scrambling to check desktop computers throughout city government.
Ultimately, viruses were found in nine city departments, Harrington said.
NewBug was found on 15 of the computers. Two other viruses, one known as Lenart2 and another called Monkey, were found on the other two computers, Harrington said.
After Jan.1, information systems will begin installing anti-virus software on all city-owned desktop computers. The cost is $8 per computer, Harrington said.
A virus is a program, usually written by computer hackers, that is designed to reproduce itself and spread from computer to computer. Sometimes it is hidden in otherwise normal-looking software. There are thousands of variations, and they usually have nicknames.
Many viruses are innocuous and merely slow a computer or display a cute message. But others hide until a certain date passes or a specific command is executed. At that point, they can permanently destroy stored files or "crash" the computer.
NewBug is harmful only to computers that have sophisticated setups such as those a programmer might use. It could slow down more typical PCs but wouldn't cause permanent damage.
NewBug appeared almost simultaneously in the United States and Europe about six months ago. Although its precise origin is unknown, some computer experts suspect it spread from Asia.
by CNB