A destructive mass-mailing worm has been spreading across computers around the world since Friday, indicating that e-mail users have still to learn not to click suspicious attachments.

Known as Fizzer, it sends itself to all contacts in an infected computer's address book, but can also disable anti-virus software on a machine, allow an outside user to take it over, or record passwords.

Fizzer is received as an executable attachment and requires users to launch the virus through the attachment in order to get infected. The filename of the attachment has one of four endings: .com, .exe, .pif, and .scr.

According to McAfee Security, e-mail users should immediately delete any message containing the following:

Subject: why?
Body: The peace
Attachment: desktop.scr

Subject: Re: You might not appreciate this...
Body: lautlach
Attachment: service.scr

Subject: Re: how are you?
Body: I sent this program (Sparky) from anonymous places on the net
Attachment: Jesse20.exe

Subject: Fwd: Mariss995
Body: There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.
Attachment: Mariss995.exe

Subject: Re: The way I feel - Remy Shand
Body: Nein
Attachment: Jordan6.pif

A cure for this virus can be found at the Network Associates AVERT site

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