Bah, Humbug! Christmas Virus Found

A potentially highly destructive computer virus set to hit Christmas Day has been found, but so far it has not spread widely. The virus, which carries the same destructive payload as the Chernobyl virus, could infect PCs running Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 95, 98 and NT operating systems. Named Win32.Kriz.3862, the Grinch-like virus could cause a significant loss of data from a PC’s hard disk drive and might make it impossible to start up or reboot the computer, said Network Associates Inc., one of the largest makers of anti-virus software. Network Associates has assigned a “medium risk” assessment on the virus because of its “destructive payload but low prevalence in the wild.” The Chernobyl virus damaged hundreds of thousands of computers in Asia when it struck earlier this year.