VIRUS NEWS Peace virus infects Excel N etwork Associates has announced that its McAfee Labs Anti-Virus Emergency Response Team (AVERT) in Paris has discovered a new computer virus that infects the French version-of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets on the Windows platform. Unlike more common macro viruses that infect both Excel and Microsoft Word, this new virus -- known among McAfee researchers as "X./Paix.A" because it saves itself as "En fin la paix"-- attacks spreadsheets by installing itself using formulas via an Add-In to Excel called xlsheet.xla. The worksheet is hidden so that users are unable to see it when they view all their worksheets. The virus is executed each time that a file is opened and whenever Excel calculates formulas on the document. At first glance, it appears that the actual damage created by the virus is minimal. It hides the toolbar and inserts new tabs into the worksheet. However, if more than one spreadsheet is open at once, there is the risk of data loss if all the programs are prompted to save as the same file. "While today this threat is specific to French language Excel spreadsheets, the potential of this new type of virus could be used to attack any language of Excel within the next three months," says Shannon Talbott, manager of McAfee Labs. Leap day 2000 poses problems Computers that survive New Years Day 2000 by pretending it is 1900 may function fine -- but only for 59 days, the New York Times reports. Experts from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) say that 29 February will present another opportunity for computers to fail. In its survey of computer systems, the FAA has uncovered a leap year problem. Because the Year 2000 is a leap year -- a calendar year which has 366 days, 29 February being the additional day that occurs every four years to offset the difference in the length of the solar year and the calendar year of 365 days -- any computer that believes that it is 1900 will not allow 29 February to exist. Experts says that this is yet another reason they are determined to correct all Year 2000 bugs. Jack Ryan, an air traffic control specialist, said jokingly that the 59 days might be a godsend "for those procrastinators among us". "29 Februarywill present another opportunity for computers to fail" Argentine software pirates rest easy R euters reports that Argentina's Supreme Court has ruled that copying software is not a criminal offense. The Supreme Court upheld earlier rulings by lower courts rejecting attempts to prosecute suspected software pirates. About 70% of computer programs in Argentina are pirated copies, costing software companies more than US$160 million a year, according to a Price Waterhouse study in 1997. In response to the ruling, Argentina's largest grouping of information and communications companies promptly urged that the government adopt new laws banning copying of software. The Chamber of Argentine Information and Communications (CICOMRA) firms said in a press release that the only remedy is a speedy change to laws protecting intellectual property. Computer Fraud & Security March 1998 © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd

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VIRUS NEWS

Peace virus infects Excel

N etwork Associates has announced that its McAfee Labs Anti-Virus Emergency Response Team

(AVERT) in Paris has discovered a new computer virus that infects the French version-of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets on the Windows platform.

Unlike more common macro viruses that infect both Excel and Microsoft Word, this new virus - - known among McAfee researchers as "X./Paix.A" because it saves itself as "En fin la pa ix"- - attacks spreadsheets by installing itself using formulas via an Add-In to Excel called xlsheet.xla. The worksheet is hidden so that users are unable to see it when they view all their worksheets. The virus is executed each time that a file is opened and whenever Excel calculates formulas on the document.

At first glance, it appears that the actual damage created by the virus is minimal. It hides the toolbar and inserts new tabs into the worksheet. However, if more than one spreadsheet is open at once, there is the risk of data loss if all the programs are prompted to save as the same file.

"While today this threat is specific to French language Excel spreadsheets, the potential of this new type of virus could be used to attack any language of Excel within the next three months," says Shannon Talbott, manager of McAfee Labs.

Leap day 2000 poses problems Computers that survive New Years Day 2000 by pretending it is 1900 may function fine - - but only for 59 days, the New York Times reports. Experts from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) say that 29 Feb rua ry will p resen t ano the r oppo r tun i t y for computers to fail. In its survey of computer systems, the FAA has uncovered a leap year problem.

Because the Year 2000 is a leap year - - a calendar year which has 366 days, 29 February being the additional day that occurs every four years to offset the difference in the length of the solar year and the calendar year of 365 days - - any computer that believes that it is 1900 will not allow 29 February to exist. Experts says that this is yet ano ther reason they are determined to correct all Year 2000 bugs. Jack Ryan, an air traffic control specialist, said jokingly that the 59 days might be a godsend "for those procrastinators among us".

"29 February will present another opportunity for computers to fail"

Argentine software pirates rest easy

R euters reports that Argentina's Supreme Court has ruled that copying software is not a criminal offense. The Supreme Court upheld earlier rulings by lower courts rejecting attempts to prosecute suspected software pirates.

About 70% of computer programs in Argentina are pirated copies, costing software companies more than US$160 million a year, according to a Price Waterhouse study in 1997.

In response to the ruling, Argentina's largest grouping of information and communications companies promptly urged that the government adopt new laws banning copying of software. The Chamber of Argentine Information and Communications (CICOMRA) firms said in a press release that the only remedy is a speedy change to laws protecting intellectual property.