Aug 19, 2007 one virus needs your attention. It is Worm.Win32.Agent.ioj. Worm.Win32.Agent.ioj spreads through portable hard drives. It can disable a variety of antivirus and personal firewall on the user's computer. The infected computer can not access the safe mode.

The virus of today:

Name: Worm.Win32.Agent.ioj

Warning level: Dangerous

Category: Worm

Affected System: WIN 9X/NT/2000/XP

The virus drops a dll file and a dat file composed of 8 numbers and letters at C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\MSInfo\. The virus also copies itself to the root of other partitions and spreads through portable hard drives. It deletes related entries and keys of safe mode from the Windows Registry so that the infected computer cannot access safe mode. It also turns off the Windows Update and Windows XP security center and downloads other viruses and Trojans.

Anti-virus experts suggest that computer users take the following measures to protect against this virus:

Do not open suspicious mail and suspicious websites; turn off or delete unnecessary system services; patch the system in a timely manner as many viruses spread by taking advantage of the system exploits or vulnerabilities; install anti-virus software for real-time monitoring and protection; Open auto-protect function when accessing to the internet; Install personal firewall to prevent the loss of  password; Set up a complicated password for the administrators account.