Annus Horriblis

As we wind down to the end of this the first year of the Millennium, let's take a chance to reflect on the year's infectors. And how deeply they affected our lives. However, the years viruses and their developers have move away from destruction for its own sake. Now they are more subtle. After all, fear is the key. And the killer.

Still, since its our emotions that have been exploited. The many malicious strains tunneled through the our lives bringing false cheer with headers that promised secret admirers, holiday greetings and even love. Want to try and guess who was the most destructive.

And while we were fighting a battle often lost against hearts, there was Kak worming its way into our cyber soul. The Kak worm is the year's most devastating infector. It appeared in January. The outbreak has still to be stamped out 12 months later. The virus attacks Internet Explorer and Outlook users. Microsoft tried to patch up things. Yet users, the first line of defense, often failed to upgrade their anti-virus software. It was a case of trying to fight an enemy with blanks instead of bullets.

Then mid-year saw the Love Bug (aka LoveLetter, ILoveU) which attacked in May. Many users fell victim to its "I Love You" or "Love Letter" subject headers; mostly lovelorn folk looking for that (still) elusive emotional bliss. The virus and its aftershocks did billions of dollars of damages. It's given a whole new meaning to words of love.

Closer to the present, comes the Navidad virus. This alleged Christmas e-greeting attacks your computer and leaves a nasty holiday surprise in your directory tree! Navidad arrived in early November, but has so far been able to inflict a fair amount of damage.

Here's the countdown. Read it. Then go make sure your anti-virus software has been updated successfully and will stand firm against unwanted intruders.

• Kakworm at 17 percent
• LoveLetter at 14.5 percent
• Apology-B at 8.9 percent
• Marker at 6.5 percent
• Pretty at 5.6 percent
• Stages-A at 3.5 percent
• Navidad at 3.4 percent
• Ska-Happy99 at 2.3 percent
• WM97/Thus at 2.1 percent
• XM97/Jini at 2.0 percent

G Menon
[email protected]

Top