The Melissa virus that jammed email networks over the weekend appears to have been created when a new computer virus was inadvertently crossed with a spam emailer. One expert says it could portend a virulent new approach to email marketing.
The list of porno passwords distributed by the "virus" led to speculation that Melissa was a new type of spam. But the porno password list may have been distributed only because one of its first victims was a mass emailer that targeted Usenet newsgroups.
"I think it was an accident," said Charles Watkins, president and CEO of Windy City, publisher of AllAsians.com, one of the sites featured in the virus' list. "I don't believe the person who sent it originally did it maliciously."
Watkins suspects an email spammer posted an infected file to a number of sex-oriented Usenet newsgroups on Friday, and the list spread like wildfire.
The original file appears to have been posted by Sky Roket from an AOL account, according to numerous postings on Usenet from users who tracked the source down.
The admitted owner of the AOL Sky Roket account is Scott Steinmetz, a civil engineer from Lynwood, Washington, who dabbles in pyrotechnic displays. Steinmetz said he's not a programmer, and doesn't use the account for anything except Internet access for his family.
"I really detest the programmers who take part in these kinds of activities," Steinmetz said.
Someone using the Sky Roket name posted a similar virus-infected document to pornographic newsgroups in late 1997.
Sunil Paul, CEO of Bright Light Technologies, an anti-spam service based in San Francisco, said it was the first virus he had encountered that spams its victims.
"I doubt it's a new form of spam," Paul said. "But I think someone in the future might use something like this to spread product info. They could call it viral marketing."
The Melissa virus, which infects Microsoft Word documents, is spread when an infected document is attached to an email message.
When the attachment is opened, the virus installs itself on a victim's computer. Working in conjunction with the email software, it is immediately redistributed to the first 50 people found in the victim's email address book.
The virus cleverly labels infected emails with the subject line, "Important message from [the victim's name]," which fools most recipients into thinking it came from a friend or trusted source.
The scheme is so effective, the virus has been dubbed one of the fastest replicating viruses yet discovered.
