Symantec Protects Against W97M.Melissa.BG

CUPERTINO, Calif. - May 26, 2000- Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) today announced that researchers at the Symantec AntiVirus Research Centre (SARC) have developed a cure for W97M.Melissa.BG (alias W97.Resume.A) - an extremely fast-spreading macro computer worm that uses Microsoft Outlook to e-mail itself as an attachment.

Symantec's Norton AntiVirus customers can download the current virus definition set, which includes a cure for the W97M.Melissa.BG virus through Symantec's LiveUpdate feature or from the Symantec Web site at www.symantec.com/avcenter/download.html. Additionally, SARC recommends administrators filter for the attachment name and subject line immediately. To submit a suspicious virus file to Symantec for analysis, customers can use the Scan and Deliver feature in Norton AntiVirus or visit Symantec's Web site at www.symantec.com for detailed instructions.

Characteristics of Infection/ Payload:
W97M.Melissa.BG is an Internet worm that uses Microsoft Outlook to spread itself as an attachment with the subject line "Resume - Janet Simons" along with an attachment called "RESUME1.DOC." When a user opens an infected document, the virus will attempt to e-mail a copy of the document to everyone in the user's Microsoft Outlook address book. The virus also copies itself to "C:\Data\Normal.dot" and to "C:\WINDOWS\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp\Explorer.doc."

Once the user closes the document, the virus attempts to delete the following files, rendering the system inoperable:

C:\*.*
C:\My Documents\*.*
C:\WINDOWS\*.*
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\*.*
C:\WINNT\*.*
C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\*.*
All files in the root directory in drives A through Z.

The body of the e-mail sent is as follows:

To: Director of Sales/Marketing,
Attached is my resume with a list of references contained within. Please feel free to call or email me if you have any further questions regarding my experience. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Janet Simons.

Symantec AntiVirus Research Centre
SARC is one of the industry's largest dedicated team of virus experts. With offices located in the United States, Japan, Australia, and the Netherlands, the sun never sets on SARC. The center's mission is to provide swift, global responses to computer virus threats, proactively research and develop technologies that eliminate such threats, and educate the public on safe computing practices. As new computer viruses appear, SARC develops identification and detection for these viruses, and provides either a repair or delete operation, thus keeping users protected against the latest virus threats.

About Symantec
Symantec, a world leader in Internet security technology, provides content security solutions to enterprise organisations and helps companies manage and support workforces that use computers and other mobile devices.

Symantec's Canadian operations are headquartered in Toronto with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, and Vancouver. For more information on Symantec products or current promotions, contact the Canadian office at (416) 441-3676 or access Symantec's Canadian web-site at www.symantec.ca. Symantec is an active member of the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft (CAAST).

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