SAN FRANCISCO: An Internet e-mail worm that leaves a back door on infected systems for possible future attacks spread quickly through Asia and Europe. The Lovegate.C worm, which first appeared in Asia, sends messages to two different e-mail addresses in Beijing once it infects a computer, said Joe Hartmann, director of North American anti-virus research for Tokyo-based Trend Micro Inc.

"The virus author could then connect to the infected system and do anything he wants to, (like) steal confidential information, delete files or run other applications on the computer," Hartmann said. Once a computer user clicks on the attachment, the worm -- a self-propagating computer virus -- spreads by sending itself to recipients listed in an infected computer's address book, he said.

If the computer is running Microsoft Corp.'s Outlook or Outlook Express e-mail programs the worm automatically replies to new incoming e-mails using the same subject line as the original message. It also spreads via shared network folders, Trend Micro said.

Anti-virus vendors updated their software to protect people against the new worm, which had significantly slowed its spread. There had been about 10,000 infections worldwide, Hartmann said.

© Reuters