That update generates a warning anytime a computer program attempts to access Outlook's address book. The virus appears to have originated in Europe. Discard the message immediately. Vincent Weafer, director of the Symantec Anti-Virus Research Center, partly attributed the virus's spread to timing. They are expecting messages from friends, maybe pictures of each other or cards.
People lower their guards.
If hotmail gets the unsolicited e-mail under control on its mail servers, mail will resume delivery from hotmail users. W95.Hybris is a worm that spreads by email as an attachment to outgoing emails. On an infected machine, whenever a user sends out an email to a person, the worm will send out another email to the same person with a copy of itself as an attachment. It was discovered in late September of 2000. Although minimum reports of infection were reported in October 2000, the worm started to become common in early Nov 2000.