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Specialists question 'naked wife'
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INTERNET security specialists disagreed on Wednesday on the source of a pornographic e-mail virus that infected computers worldwide and was thought to have originated in Brazil.
The ``Naked Wife'' virus crippling Microsoft Windows appeared on computers across the United States, Canada and Europe on Tuesday and at least one software company traced it back to Brazil.
Security software maker Symantec Corp said the virus appeared to have been written on Monday on a personal computer owned by a company called ``AGF Brasil Seguros'' and registered to a user named ``MH Santos''. AGF Brasil Seguros is the Brazilian unit of insurance company Centrale des Assurance Generales de France.
But McAfee.com Corp, a US-based Internet security services firm, said it was certain the virus did not originate in Brazil. The virus ``is from the United States and it does not have any relation with Brazilian companies'', said Patricia Ammirabile of McAfee's Brazilian unit.
Dozens of companies reported infections by the virus on Tuesday, but by the afternoon anti-virus companies were already offering cures on their Web sites.
The attached file would not be greeted by a nude woman, but would instead see a short cartoon followed by a vulgar message, signed by ``BGK (Bill Gates Killer)''.
All the while, the virus would be deleting key Windows and system files on the user's computer, leaving it unable to start properly. Similar to earlier worm-type viruses like ``Love Letter'' and ''Melissa'', ``Naked Wife'' spread quickly by e-mailing itself to everyone in a user's Microsoft Outlook e-mail address book.
(SD-Agencies)
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