Love Bug virus fails to bite CSULB

A computer worm program that spread across the globe via e-mail Thursday under the message "ILOVEYOU" did minimal damage at Cal State Long Beach over the weekend, a CSULB Network Services representative said.

The worm, better know as the "love bug," did force the Chancellor's Office to shut down its e-mail system for six hours, said Ken Swisher, a Chancellor's Office spokesman. About two-thirds of the personnel at the office received the worm, but only a few people opened it, he added.

"Our people here were able to respond very quickly, so that not many people opened their e-mail," Swisher said. He could not verify how many computers were affected.

About 50 people at CSULB received copies of the worm, but only a handful actually opened it, said Matthew Black, a network analyst for Network Services. Network Services doesn't yet know how many computers have been affected, he said. The worm primarily uses Microsoft Outlook Express, a popular e-mail program, as its entry vehicle by arriving as an attachment that, when opened, sends copies of itself to everyone in the recipient's address book, Black said.

The worm then goes on to destroy programs in the recipient's computer files, especially picture and music files. Because CSULB's e-mail system is not run with Outlook Express, the worm would mostly affect those who installed that program themselves, Black said. Technicians at Network Services put an e-mail filter program on the campuswide system, which blocks keywords like "ILOVEYOU" and "joke," one of the "love bug" aliases, Black said.