Beware of Vicious Valentine Viruses

Virus-writers love to target the holidays, so here's what to watch for in electronic greetings.

Michael Gowan, special to PCWorld.com

Last Valentine's Day some people received an unwanted gift in their e-mail in-box: The VBS.Valentine.A worm. And while there's no indication of a Valentine's Day virus lurking for delivery this year, antivirus experts urge caution.

History shows that love has acted as a front for deception--consider Samson and Delilah, or any of Mata Hari's lovers. On Valentine's Day you run a higher risk of getting hit by a virus or a worm. It's not because more viruses are triggered on February 14, but because you and your friends are more likely to open an attachment or click on a link that enables a virus to act, say antivirus company representatives.

Last year's harmful heartthrob, also known as VBS/Valentin@MM, would replace the contents of files in your C: drive with a text message on four specified days of any month.

"Any holiday is an especially vulnerable time [for viruses]," says April Goostree, virus research manager at antivirus vendor McAfee. People are looking for e-mail with attachments from friends and family, so they open more of them during holiday seasons. Many of the current generation of viruses propagate by using your address book, so a friend could get an infected e-mail from you, open the attachment, and get infected.

Unpleasant Greetings

Luckily, few viruses specifically target Valentine's Day, says Carey Nachenberg, chief researcher of Symantec's Antivirus Response Center. None of those that do aim for February 14 has done any widespread damage. However, the very damaging LoveLetter virus spread widely in May 2000 using a love theme to get people to open the e-mail and infect their systems. The LoveLetter was keyed around Mother's Day.

But another threat is more prevalent around the holidays: the virus hoax. Valentine's Day is the theme of several of the e-mail messages that tell you wrongly that you have received a virus, according to Steve Demogines, director of technical support for Panda Software, another antivirus vendor. These include the Be My Valentine hoax, which warns of a virus that will wipe out your hard drive, but in fact has no effect.

Hoaxes aren't dangerous, but they are annoying and can waste a lot of your time, Nachenberg says. Before you delete any files or get too worried, check out Symantec's hoax page or McAfee's hoax page to see if it's a joke.

Be on the Lookout

Most users know to be wary of attachments from unknown senders. But it's also important to avoid unwanted attachments from acquaintances, since a worm can use your friends' address books to send itself. Nachenberg suggests you call any one who sends you an unexpected attachment, just to make sure it is legit.

Goostree says you are probably not at risk if you receive an e-card from one of the major greeting card sites, but be alert for e-cards that come directly into your in-box (rather than providing a link to a site)--especially if you don't know the sender. Still, the recent My Party worm showed that you can get a virus by clicking on a URL link, so make sure you don't follow links from unknown senders.

The best advice is to remain skeptical, even in times when love is in the air. If you don't expect an attachment or link from someone, don't open it until you are sure of what it is. And the antivirus experts also say you should update your antivirus software virus definition files every week and keep the program running in the background at all times.