City’s e-mail shut down due to virus

Kenneth Ma

A computer virus destroyed some files containing photographs in the

city’s computer network last week and forced officials to shut down an

internal e-mail system in order to remove it.

Outlook Express, a Microsoft program that operates the city’s e-mail and

electronic calendaring systems, was shut down May 24 to trap and remove

the remains of the “I Love You” virus, which raced across the Internet in

May affecting millions of computers in about two dozens countries. The

system was back up as of Tuesday.

Michael Dolder, the city’s fire chief and information systems director,

said public services were not affected by the shutdown because Outlook is

primarily used for internal communications. City employees who use e-mail

externally for business instead used phones and fax machines as

substitutes to prevent disruption of city services, he said.

“[The virus] points out to the city and the public the importance of the

Internet,” said Rich Barnard, city spokesman. “The city is up to date

with virus protection programs, but there are always new viruses coming

out.”

City employees were instructed to sign off immediately on their computers

if the Outlook program opened automatically.

If the virus is not purged from the city’s computer network, it could

destroy records, files and hard drives, Dolder said. The source of the

virus, he said, has not been determined.

The virus, which was first launched from the Philippines, remains dormant

until the e-mail and an accompanying attachment are opened, prompting the

program to prey on the popular Outlook Express e-mail program. It attacks

by sending copies of the infected e-mail to every address listed in the

program’s address book.