New Type of Computer Virus Alarms Experts

A computer virus transmitted via Internet chat rooms has alarmed security experts because it is the first that can be controlled by its creator after it has infected a computer. The virus, known as Babylonia, primarily affects home computers and spreads through Microsoft Corp. software used for chat rooms. When an infected user logs on to a chat room using the MIRC chat software, the virus gets sent as a Y2K bug fix to anyone else in that chat room. If the file is downloaded, the next time the user logs on to the Internet, the virus contacts a Web server in Japan that the virus writer can program to download additional files onto the infected computer. Because the virus spreads through chat rooms, users should turn off any auto-download features. So far, the files that Babylonia downloads are benign, but they can be updated at any time. “In terms of the ability to dynamically update the virus, this is something brand new,” said Vincent Weafer, a director of Symantec Corp.’s AntiVirus Research Center in Santa Monica. “It’s one of the most complex viruses we’ve seen.” Babylonia also sends information about an infected computer’s configuration and identity to an e-mail address. Babylonia contains code written in Portuguese, leading security experts to speculate that it originated in Brazil or Portugal. There are also thousands of Portuguese-speaking people in Japan.