Content Technologies has made available a solution for a new Microsoft Office macro virus, `You`ve GOT MAIL!!!`.
The virus infects Microsoft Word and Excel documents and is set to insert random shapes into Word or Excel documents on the 17th August and 25th December, similar to the Melissa virus. It also replicates via e-mail and has the potential to clog up organisation`s email systems.
The new virus is activated when the document, in which it is contained, is opened. The virus then uses Outlook to e-mail copies of itself to all the entries in the address book. The virus can also effect the Autoexec.bat of a W98 machine and can attempt to format the C: drive.
The e-mail is easily identified as the subject line is `You`ve GOT Mail!!!` and the message text comprises `Please, save the document after you read and don`t show to anyone else. The document is also VIRUS FREE.so DISREGARD the virus protection warning!!!`
The bug was identified by Sophos. Content Technologies, the leading provider of content security solutions, had a solution within an hour for its six thousand MAILsweeper customers.
The intelligent keyword search profile in MAILsweeper detects the phrases in the subject line and body of this new virus. Users simply access the "text analyzer" (version 4) or "lexical analysis" (version 3) in MAILsweeper and input the identifying words or phrases to be detected. This quickly and simply changes the MAILsweeper configuration to find the threat. The suspect e-mail containing the virus can then be quarantined or deleted at the gateway.
MAILsweeper customers who spotted the virus prior to any official notification could configure their own MAILsweeper solution at the gateway to prevent the bug coming into their organisation.
Craig Copeland, director at Networks Unlimited, a distributor of Content Technologies products in SA, says, "Companies relying purely on AV tools for their content security protection have once again been left exposed while waiting for the critical fix. However Content Technologies MAILsweeper solution empowers users to take control of their content security at the gateway - to defend themselves quickly from all types of content security threats, not just viruses. MAILsweeper`s highly flexible configuration policy editor gives control to the user and allows them to set their security agenda, and not rely on the AV providers."
"This virus reaffirms the fact that it`s essential that organisations have a flexible content security management solution in place. The only way to deal with this bug, and any possible variants, effectively is to stop it at the gateway. If it reaches the desktop then it`s probably already too late," he adds.
This sentiment is echoed by Piet Opperman, President of the IT Users Council, and member of the newly established SABS sub-committee to develop a Code of Practice (COP) for South African information security management systems. "Companies with clear and sensible policies that are in line with internationally accepted standards are increasingly being differentiated from those who take a `wait-and-see` attitude," he says. "Those companies which do not have a security policy, or do not enforce it, will eventually be labelled as being vulnerable to virus outbreaks, hacker attacks or leaks of confidential information. Eventually, their customers will start to question their security capabilities and they will begin to lose business."
"An information security plan is not the IT Manager`s responsibility, but rests with top management, who must formally commit themselves to a plan that focuses more on procedure rather than a technical solution," he says.
The solution for the latest virus can be found at www.contenttechnologies.com
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