September 10, 2001
The Timeshare Beat
HONOLULU, HI -- The SirCam worm/virus has been making its steady progress through people's computers by cleverly
asking for their advice. Attached to each request for advice is a private file that it has filched from the host
computer, and it will change the file name and subject line of the email at random.
It appears that people are finding it hard to overlook the opportunity to give advice, so they are opening those attachments.
When you open one of those attachments, not only will you see the private files from someone else's computer, you will also become infected with the SirCam worm, which will then pick files at random from your computer and send those files out as attachments to everyone in your address book and to email addresses it finds in your Temporary Internet Files cache. You will not even know it is doing it.
The Timeshare Beat has received hundreds of attached files that include everything from company stats, payroll accounts, the beginnings of a book, housekeeping stats, internal memos, golf stats-- you name it. Fortunately we have opened none of them, so your secrets are safe from us. But we cannot make that claim for anyone else who received them and who may have opened them.
The email that accompanies this particularly nasty little worm says this:
Hi! How are you?
I send you this file in order to have your advice
See you later. Thanks
If you receive such an email, accompanied by an attachment, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES OPEN THAT ATTACHMENT. Delete
it immediately, then go into your Deleted file and delete it permanently. If you have already opened it, it's too
late and your computer is sending us (and many others) your private files.
We would suggest that you go to the Web site of your anti-virus supplier and find out how to get rid of this virus,
update your anti-virus software, and then never open an attachment that is accompanied by this message again. In
fact, don't open ANY attachment-- even if you know the sender-- until you have confirmed that it is legitimate.
Your best defense against infection by any virus is to update your anti-virus program regularly, no less often than every week.
You can find out more about the SirCam virus, and how to get rid of it, here: http://www.sarc.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.sircam.worm@mm.html