Writers of Viruses Get Politics Bug

Computer viruses that a couple of weeks ago promised photos of naked women as an enticement may now claim to have a satellite photo of the war scene in Iraq. If you get an e-mail that mentions Iraq in the subject line, be doubly cautious. It may contain a computer virus. Anti-war demonstrators have clogged Hyde Park in London and jammed city streets in America and across the world. Others wanting to make a strong political stand are using computer viruses as a high-tech protest sign. Some viruses are being sent as a way to protest or support the war. Other senders could care less about politics and use the mention of Iraq as a way to capture the interest of computer users. It's a way of making sure they will open the e-mail attachment carrying the virus. Politics aside, virus buffs "use anytime anything that is popular" as a subject line (such as "Iraqi Satellite Photos") to induce you to open the e-mail attachment, he said. "They used the shuttle, and now it's anti-war or anything against the president." No matter what the subject line, the payload is still the same: an attachment carrying a computer virus. Many viruses come as attachments to an e-mail. The e-mail itself is safe, but opening the attachment can infect your computer.