There is a worm (called Win32/Mywife.E@mm) floating around the Internet which has the potential to activate on the 3rd day of every month. It is a mass-mailing worm that spreads primarily by someone opening an infected file - such as an email attachment that you were not expecting. On the third day of every month it attempts to rewrite files with certain extensions with custom text. February 3, 2006 is the first time it is expected to permanently corrupt these files. The malware also modifies or deletes files and registry keys associated with certain computer security-related applications.

As long as your Symantec Antivirus is up-to-date, your computer will not be at risk from infection. In general, all UMW-owned computers are automatically updated. However, if your computer has been disconnected from the Internet for a significant time, you may be vulnerable.

To determine that you are not vulnerable, simply ensure that the date of your virus definitions is later than 16 January, 2006. For help checking your virus definition date, go to the following web site:
http://www.umw.edu/technology/desktop/viruses/antivirus_for_windows.php

If you have any questions, please contact the Help Desk at x2255.

If you would like more detailed information about this worm, go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/904420.mspx or http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blackmal.e@mm.html