Viruses Affecting Microsoft Outlook

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Viruses Affecting Microsoft Outlook

This page provides information on some specific viruses that either propagate via Microsoft Outlook or embed themselves in HTML mail messages that Outlook can receive. We're not going to cover every virus ever found. Most viruses targeting Outlook operate via similar methods, so we list the archetypical representative of each method.

To protect your computer from such viruses, please see:

Protecting Microsoft Outlook against Viruses

BleBla

Also known as Romeo & Juliet or Verona, the BleBla virus is the first to target several Outlook HTML mail vulnerabilities to enable a virus that launches its payload .exe attachment automatically when the user opens the message. See the complete analysis in EMO newsletter.

Stages Virus

The Stages virus/worm propagates itself like the VBS/Loveletter virus, only it uses an uncommon file type, the Shell Scrap Object. For a detailed discussion of this file type, see Scrap Files Can Tear You Up and What Is a Scrap (.shs) File?.

ILOVEYOU Virus Links

The ILOVEYOU or VBS/Loveletter virus propagates via Outlook 98, Outlook 2000 and Internet Relay Chat with a .vbs (VBScript) file payload. It is quite destructive. Variants have emerged with different subject lines and .vbs attachments or with other types of attachments.