Businesses and home-computer users are in danger of losing thousands of documents to an e-mail virus which began spreading yesterday.
The mass-mail virus infiltrates computers through an e-mail attachment and deletes or corrupts Microsoft Word, Excel and other computer files. It also attempts to disable anti-virus software.
Known as the Black Worm, Nyxen, Kama Sutra, Mywife or CME-24, the virus can attack files without their owners ever being aware - until they attempt to open the documents.
Computer users may have opened an infected e-mail in recent weeks and seen no ill effects as the virus was programmed to activate and begin destroying files from yesterday.
A spokesman for the Department of Communications said this type of e-mail, designed to vandalise systems, was now uncommon.
The virus was "not of the most dangerous kind" he said, because computer software companies had taken steps at an early stage to stop the e-mails reaching computers.
He said those who had been affected were unlikely to be able to recover lost documents. To guard against such viruses, computer users should ensure their anti-virus software is up to date and switched on. They should also avoid opening attachments from unknown users.
