A computer virus called Mydoom has infected about 16 percent of e-mail messages worldwide and shows no signs of slowing. SCO Group Inc, whose Web site is under attack by the virus, offered a US$250,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the malicious code's author. \nMydoom has probably infected 250,000 computers via e-mail since yesterday, said Tony Magallanez, at engineer with Helsinki-based security-software maker F-Secure Oyj. That's the highest since the SoBig worm that slowed or shut down hundreds of thousands of computers in August. \n"The rate of infection has not declined, but it has leveled off at about 16 percent of all e-mail messages worldwide," said Magallanez from San Jose, California. The rate of infection has stopped increasing in the last few hours as companies have deployed more programs to clean up their computers, he said. \nMydoom is slowing company e-mail systems by installing a command in infected computers to send a flood of information requests to SCO's Web site when the computer's clock shows the date is on or after Feb. 1, F-Secure and Symantec Corp said. \nSCO, which is trying to collect royalties from companies using the Linux operating system, said its Web site was down for 10 minutes today. While the company isn't certain Mydoom was to blame, it wants to head off any possible attacks scheduled for Sunday, spokesman Blake Stowell said. \n"They're going to have a lot more trouble in a few days," said Craig Schmugar, a virus research manager with Network Associates Inc's McAfee division, referring to Lindon, Utah-based SCO. \nPersonal computers whose clocks are set wrong are probably responsible for the attacks on SCO, Magallanez said. \nSuch PCs with incorrect clock settings are probably less than a half of 1 percent of all infected machines, Schmugar said. \nThe rate of infection of e-mail has not slowed as expected, monitoring by McAfee shows. The company, which obtains reports of infected messages from e-mail service providers, expects the virus to taper off after yesterday morning San Francisco time, Schmugar said. \n"February 12th may be the only certain thing that makes this stop," said Schmugar, citing the date on which Mydoom's attack on SCO is programmed to conclude. \nSCO is working with the FBI and the US Secret Service but has been given no information about the possible identity of the virus's author, SCO's Stowell said. \n"This is the biggest attack since August," said Oliver Friedrichs, senior manager for Security Response at Symantec, the world's largest maker of anti-virus software. Mydoom, also called Novarg and a variant of the MiMail virus, is rated a "Level 4" attack, a designation last used for the Blaster worm in August. \nThe state of Pennsylvania discovered e-mails infected with the virus on its network, said Lee Feirick, a computer manager for the state. No computer networks have been forced to shut down he said. \n"It's definitely a nuisance," he said. \nProcter & Gamble Co, the largest US maker of household goods, is "working on an anti-virus update to protect against a rapidly spreading Internet virus," spokesman Doug Shelton said. \nOfficials at six of the largest US telecommunications companies, including Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Corp, said the virus hadn't disrupted service on their networks. At Qwest Communications International Inc, the fourth-biggest US local carrier, the virus has been a "nuisance," spokesman Steven Hammack said. \nMydoom is more powerful than previous viruses because it can randomly change the kinds of e-mail attachments it sends and it can search Web sites to find valid e-mail addresses, security experts said. \nA series of virus outbreaks in the past year has boosted shares of security-software companies. Shares of Network Associates have gained 45 percent since the start of August, while Symantec has risen 70 percent and F-Secure 97 percent.
SOURED RELATIONS: Program director Jennifer Liu said the move to Taipei was due to a ‘perceived lack of friendliness’ from Beijing Language and Culture University Harvard University is to relocate its summer Mandarin program from Beijing to National Taiwan University (NTU) starting next year, a student publication reported on Thursday last week. Run at Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) since 2004, the Harvard Beijing Academy is to become the Harvard Taipei Academy once it moves to Taiwan, Crimson magazine reported. Program director Jennifer Liu (劉力嘉) attributed the decision to a “perceived lack of friendliness” from the Chinese university, potentially due to shifting political winds. Liu told the magazine that BLCU in recent years had failed to provide a single dorm for the students or separate accommodation of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday issued a rebuttal to former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who said a fistfight in the Legislative Yuan might have been “provoked from the outside” to destabilize Taiwan. Rice made the comment in an online discussion about the AUKUS alliance of Australia, the UK and the US hosted by the Policy Exchange forum in London on Thursday. On mention of Taiwan, she was quoted by The Australian as predicting that Beijing would use paramilitary forces and acts of sabotage to destabilize the nation. “There was a fistfight in the Taiwanese parliament a few weeks ago
ADVANCING TECH: With revenue on target to reach US$15.4 billion, the Hsinchu-based chipmaker said it is looking to produce 3-nanometer chips later this year Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday announced plans to build a new plant in Japan next year to produce 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer chips in its latest effort to expand its global manufacturing footprint. The Japanese fab is to start operations in 2024, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker said, ending months of speculation. “We have received strong commitment to supporting this project from our customers and the Japanese government,” TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told a quarterly investors’ conference. “We believe the expansion of our global manufacturing footprint will enable us to better serve our customers’ needs and reach global talent,
KNOWN ISSUES: Fire safety issues were found in the 40-year-old building, which previously housed a theater and restaurants, in 2019, last year and May, an official said Forty-six people died and 41 were injured in a building fire that raged out of control for hours overnight in Kaohsiung, authorities said yesterday. Flames and smoke billowed from the lower floors of the 13-story Cheng Chung Cheng (城中城) building on Fubei Road in Yancheng District (鹽埕), as firefighters tried to douse the blaze from the street and aerial platforms. The death toll rose steadily through the day as rescue workers searched the combined commercial and residential building. By late afternoon, authorities said 32 bodies had been found, while a further 14 people who showed no signs of life were among 55
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