The FBI has opened an investigation into a new computer virus spreading globally by e-mail that some experts say could pose serious risks to computer systems.
The IRC/Stages "worm", or virus that replicates itself and sends out multiple e-mails, does not damage files but could clog email systems, the US government's National Infrastructure Protection Center said in a statement.
Although the virus has been circulating for nearly a month, the NIPC and anti-virus software companies upgraded their assessment of the virus to high-risk based on the number of samples received. The NIPC said it and the FBI were investigating the new virus.
The government-sponsored Computer Emergency Response said thousands of computers or systems had likely been hit.
"Some individual users have reported receiving as many as 30 copies, and some large sites have reported seeing as many as 120,000 copies passing through a single mail server," CERT said in a statement.
The impact of the latest virus in Ireland is understood to be limited. The e-mail generally has the title "Life Stages" "Funny" or "Jokes" and might add either "Fw:" to the beginning or "text" to the end of the subject.
The virus can spread though email programs including Microsoft Outlook. Microsoft recently offered a fix for its program that users may download from its website.
