Melissa tricks computer users by disguising itself as an e-mail from a friend or colleague and comes as a note saying that an important document is attached. Once the victim opens up the document, a Microsoft Word file, the virus digs into the computer s Microsoft Outlook address book and sends the same e-mail to the first 50 names it finds. By Friday, April 3, companies said they had largely eradicated the virus by upgrading computers with new cures. Federal authorities arrested a New Jersey man and charged him that same day with originating the Melissa virus. But security experts warn that Melissa mutations could easily renew the threat posed by viruses transmitted through e-mail.
Days can pass before a user realizes a computer is tainted.
Anti-virus software previously installed on computers may not work on the new infection, so technicians must install new software. By that time, corporate e-mail systems can crash and networks grind to a halt. Network Associates Inc., maker of the McAfee brand of anti-virus software, has a similar project. N.Y. Here s how it would work. The software does this with up to 90 percent accuracy, in part by matching a stored list of suspicious virus characteristics against e-mail and files, White said.