The destructive Chernobyl virus is making the rounds over the Internet again, this time hitting the US with promised pictures of a naked Jennifer Lopez.
Antivirus-software maker Panda Software issued an alert after receiving about eight reports of the virus in the US yesterday, including one from a major aviation company.
Panda has given the virus its highest rating of potential risk, distribution and destruction.
Symantec considers the virus less of a threat, saying it received only six reports of the virus, indicating that the virus was spreading too slowly to cause any real damage.
But the Jennifer Lopez files pose a serious threat regardless, said Steve Demogines, director of tech support at Panda.
Hiding behind the fictitious photos of Lopez is the lethal Chernobyl virus, which can erase content on files and disable computers.
The other factor that makes the Lopez file dangerous is that it uses a "social engineering" technique that could prove effective, according to Demogines.
The term social engineering refers to the practice of coming up with intriguing email subject lines to fool the unsuspecting into opening virus-infected files.
The Lopez file's subject line reads "Where are you," and the attachment is titled JenniferLopez_Naked.JPG.VBS.
The Jennifer Lopez file is the latest in a string of mass-mailing worm viruses -- copycat versions of the AnnaKournikova virus, which spread across the globe in February by encouraging victims to click on a supposed picture of Russian tennis star Anna Kournikova.
The Anna virus had the ability to mail itself to a large number of Internet users but did not damage computer systems. Its main threat was that it might clog servers. The virus inside the Lopez file packs a more destructive punch.
When the W95/CIH virus is unleashed, it goes on a search-and-destroy mission.
The virus seeks out and overwrites code on specific files on the hard disk, stripping them of their content.
The virus also infects the Windows installation folder and can disable a computer by overwriting BIOS information on the PC's motherboard, preventing a user from booting up.
