Caution! New virus: "Resume - Janet Simons". Delete any such e-mail immediately

[Paul n Shelley]

LA Times: 5/27/0

WASHINGTON - The computer e-mail viruses that swept the  world earlier this
month claimed to be looking for love, but now a  new threat has arrived looking for a job.

A new and dangerous computer virus dubbed "Killer Resume" is  spreading through e-mail
systems using the Microsoft Outlook  program, the FBI said.

Computer security companies reported that several corporate  e-mail systems had
already been infected, and some shut down as a  result, the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center said Friday
night.

The virus is known as the "Killer Resume" because it arrives  pretending to be a
resume from a potential job applicant, the  anti-virus company Network Associates said on their Web site. The  virus is
carried in a file attached to an e-mail with the subject "Resume - Janet Simons."

Another computer security company, Symantec Corp. of Cupertino, Calif., had received nine reports early Saturday of
infected  computers, including two from U.S. corporations, spokeswoman Yunsun

Wee said. She wouldn't name the companies affected.

Wee said the virus appeared to be fairly well contained because  most companies had
shut down for the Memorial Day weekend. She  added her company didn't expect the virus to spread far because 
corporations and computer users would be able to update their  anti-virus programs over the weekend.

"If this was a regular work week and the virus hit earlier in  the day we could have
potentially seen more infections and  damage," Wee said.

However, the FBI's warning said the extended weekend could give  the virus an
opportunity to spread with a surge in activity as  business open overseas on Monday and in the United States on Tuesday.

The Killer Resume virus is similar to the "Melissa" virus that  clogged e-mail system
around the world in March 1999 because both  spread using an attached Microsoft Word file. The document used by

Killer Resume is called "EXPLORER.DOC" or "RESUME.DOC," the Santa Clara, Calif.-based Network Associates said.

When someone opens the Word file, the virus first spreads itself  by sending an e-mail
to everyone in the user's Microsoft Outlook  address book. It then makes that person's computer inoperable by  deleting
important files.

While only Outlook users can spread the virus, any person with a  computer running the
Windows operating system who opens the  infected Word document can have their files erased.

The FBI advised computer users not to open any e-mail with the "Resume - Janet Simons" subject line, to deactivate the
executive  summary feature in Outlook, and then delete the e-mail without  opening it.

Both Symantec and Network Associates had posted updates to their  anti-virus software
to stop Killer Resume on their Web sites Friday.

Computer users can also protect themselves by disabling the "macro" feature of their Word programs, Wee said.

Microsoft has been developing an update to make their e-mail  software more secure.

The anti-virus firms said the body of Killer Resume e-mail  reads: 

"To Director of Sales/Marketing,
Attached is my resume with a list of references contained  within. Please feel free to
call or e-mail me if you have any  further questions regarding my experience. I am looking forward to  hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Janet Simons."

Earlier this month, the "Love Bug" virus spread quickly,  reaching millions by
seducing recipients with a love letter  purportedly from a friend. Once news spread of the threat, infected  e-mails
were easily detected and deleted.

Estimates of the damage caused by that virus range up to $10 billion, mostly in lost
work time.