New 'Love Virus'

By Stephen M. Silverman

12/02/1997 at 12:00 AM EST

Just two weeks after the "Love Bug" bit computers around the world, there's a new virus to worry about this weekend. This fresh strain doesn't spread as fast, but it is already said to be wreaking havoc on hard drives far and wide. The new virus, which changes its subject line every time it infects a new computer (then goes on to delete all files before it is sent to names in the user's address book), was reportedly detected at several large companies late Thursday. Beware of e-mail messages that begin with "FW:" and are followed by a random word, of attachments that end with ".vbs" and of mail from senders whose names are unfamiliar to you.