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MyDoom.F Peaks

Security experts believe the MyDoom.F virus hit its peak earlier in the week and infections are slowing. MyDoom.F did not spread as quickly as some other members of the MyDoom family, but the variant carried a high profile because it deletes files on infected computers.

"MessageLabs has intercepted a total of 210,405 copies of W32.Mydoom.F since the virus hit the wild on Feb. 19, 2004," the security company reported late Wednesday. "Since its release, the virus appears to have peaked in number on Tuesday, with 115,772 copies intercepted by MessageLabs."

Like earlier versions of MyDoom, the latest variant of the mass-mailing worm is designed to perform a Distributed-Denial-of-Service (DDOS) attack on Microsoft's domain. The latest version also targets the Web site of the Recording Industry Association of America, which gained notoriety for its combative approach toward illegal file sharing.

But MyDoom.F's most troublesome feature for users whose computers are infected is its attempt to delete files. The worm targets several file types, including pictures, movies and Microsoft Office documents.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

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