How does ILOVEYOU Worm Spread?
ILOVEYOU worms use email attachments to infiltrate a system. Most often it targets Microsoft Outlook, the default email management application in corporate networks to carry out its malicious operations. It uses email attachments to hide its presence and delude its target about the real content. When a user receives an ILOVEYOU email they click on it at once to know the content. As soon as they click, malware infiltrates the system.
Recognizing the hidden malware inside the email attachment is difficult. It is because the ILOVEYOU worm is a VBScript program (LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt.vbs), and when users receive it on their PC the extension .vbs remains hidden. When the user opens the file, the Visual Basic script becomes activated and overwrites the files on the target computer. It self-replicates rapidly and spreads to the critical area in the system where multimedia files are stored. It targets multimedia files like photos and documents and replaces them with copies of itself. In addition to this, it accesses the email address book and sends itself to other users to spread on different devices rapidly.
What Risks ILOVEYOU Worm Involves?
The ILOVEYOU worm is a deadly malware that poses a wide variety of security risks when it infiltrates a PC. The malicious activities it executes hugely affect individuals, businesses and government organizations. The damages it inflicts are irretrievable and overwhelming. Here are some common examples of risks lover letter malware involves:
Data Loss
It overwrites multimedia and critical files in the system including documents, images, system files and other critical data. Victims cannot retrieve this data once the worm overwrites or steals it. This can disrupt the whole work process in the personal and commercial workspaces.
Financial Damage
It can incur huge financial damage to individuals and organizations in the aftermath of the attack. Recovering the lost data and repairing the affected system is an expensive business. According to reports the global estimated cost of damages LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt.vbs has been around $10 billion.
System Disruption
When a LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt.vbs replicates and spreads to other systems the affected systems and email servers become overburdened with the workload. This resource-intensive activity causes system disruptions and widespread outages. It affects the normal work process in the company causing a loss of productivity to a complete shutdown.
Privacy Breaches
LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt.vbs can access the email book address and automatically send copies of itself to other users. When they open the attachments it infiltrates their devices too and exposes them to a wide range of risks and damages. It steals data from the new devices and breaches their online privacy.
Global Scale Impact
ILOVEYOU worm is a deadly malware that can disrupt governments, media outlets, financial institutions and other sensitive areas. If it infiltrates the network of a critical organization it takes no time to spread and infect all the systems and clients connected to that organization. It can disrupt the global infrastructure and international supply chains.
What are the Signs of ILOVEYOU Worm Infections?
If your system is behaving in an unusual way and showing particular signs then it can be infected with a malicious program. Following are sure signs that indicate your PC is infected with the ILOVEYOU worm.
- Email Activity Spikes: your email sends out a huge number of emails having the subject line ILOVEYOU and the receivers will notify you about these emails coming from your account.
- Missing or Corrupted Files: your multimedia files, personal documents and images are missing or corrupted or overwritten with extensions like .vbs.
- Slow or Crashing Systems: the system speed is slow and it is experiencing frequent crashes. In the worst cases, it completely freezes and becomes unresponsive.
- Unusual Email Attachments: you will notice email attachments having names like ILOVEYOU, or LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt.vbs in your inbox.
- Unusual Script Execution: your system defender will send you a notification about unauthorized Visual Basic script activities in the background.
- Overloaded Email Servers: your email server will slow down because of hyper-email sending activity in your infected inbox.
- Reports from People: you will get reports from people receiving emails from you having the subject line ILOVEYOU.
How to Remove the ILOVEYOU Worm From Your PC?
If you see signs of infections on your device and the virus is ILOVEYOU then don’t wait to take safety actions. Here are effective tips that help you deal with the ILOVEYOU worm and keep your protected:
Disconnect From the Internet
At the first opportunity, disconnect your device from the internet. It will prevent the worm from using your network and spreading to other devices. Since it can also work as a loader then without the internet connection it won’t be able to download any new malware or create a backdoor to communicate with the outside server. Disconnectivity limits their activity and ability to create a channel to other networks.
Boot in Safe Mode
The second thing you can do is boot your PC in safe mode. In the safe mode, the device system suspends all the program activities and background operations running in the system. Only essential processes are allowed to run that disable worms and viruses.
Scan with Antivirus Software
Deep scan your computer using strong 360 Antivirus Pro software. It will detect the worms hiding in the files and dormant programs. It will quarantine the infected files and remove the malicious codes from them. Also, it repairs the existing system and keeps it clean from all the possible dangers.
Update Your Software
It is highly important to update your system programs, apps and accounts to fix the vulnerabilities and boost the security of the system. New updates close security backdoors and prevent worms and bugs from infiltrating the system and running malicious activities.
Change Passwords
Worms and viruses can steal your details and passwords. Black hats can exploit this information to access your account and do all the malicious activities. Hence, it is highly important to create strong passwords to secure the access control. If you see any suspicious activity involving your account, change the passwords at once. You can prevent unauthorized access to your device and prevent potential cyber-attacks down the line.
Warn Contacts
Give a heads-up to all the contacts stored in your email registry about the worm infections and protect their devices from them. It will help them take necessary steps in advance before any mishap befall them.
How to Prevent the ILOVEYOU Worm?
They say prevention is better than cure. If you follow safety internet practices in advance then you can prevent potential threats and resulting damage down the line. It will save you time and effort and keep you one step ahead in unfavourable situations. Hence, here are some effective tips you can use to prevent ILOVEYOU worms from entering your system to run its malicious operations:
Be Cautious of Emails
First and foremost it is highly recommended to avoid opening suspicious emails having unknown links and attachments. Hackers use spoofed addresses and links to send phishing emails and tempt users into their trap. They use sensational and emotional subject lines such as ILOVEYOU to trick the user and opening the emails and knowing about the inside content. Hence, you have to be cautious of emails and attachments inside them.
Update Software Regularly
Keep your device system, apps and software up to date as soon as new updates are made available. It fortifies your device’s security and braces the system to deal with the latest threats. Also, you get new features and upgraded tools that add to work efficiency and better performance.
Use Antivirus Software
Equip your PC with smart antivirus software to make it immune to online attacks and cyber risks. It will keep your system clean and block the deadly malware from infiltrating your device. Smart antivirus software consists of behaviour analysis, sandboxing, real-time protection, browser security and email filtration features. It offers end-to-end protection against online threats and maintains online privacy and system integrity.
Backup Your Data
Backup your device data on a regular basis to an external device or cloud storage. If by chance ILOVEYOU worm enters your device system and overwrites your files you can always go back to the backup and recover important data from it. It saves you from complete disruption and deadlock.
