ISLANDIA, N.Y., Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Computer Associates International, Inc. (NYSE: CA - news) today warned computer users of ``WIN32.ICQGREETING.WORM'' (ICQGREETING), a new variant of the ``W32.Mypics.Worm'' (Mypics) Y2K virus. Detected on the evening of December 9, 1999, ICQGREETING attempts to destroy a user's data and applications by formatting their disk drives starting on January 1, 2000. This new worm virus is confirmed as being ``in the wild.''

ICQGREETING spreads by sending an e-mail without a subject line and an empty message body with an attachment called ``Icq_Greetings.exe.'' After ten minutes, the worm virus attempts to forward a copy of itself to the addresses in a user's Microsoft Outlook e-mail address book. Approximately twenty minutes after the computer is infected, the worm virus attempts to e-mail itself again every ten minutes. The file will copy itself to a user's PC and will create registry keys in the operating system, allowing the worm virus to automatically run when the user restarts their PC.

ICQGREETING will attempt to format the following drives: d:, e:, a:, f:, u:, b:, but it contains several bugs and fails to format the drives.

Users can get the latest information on this worm virus and protect their computers immediately by downloading the latest signature file of CA's leading antivirus solution, InoculateIT, at http://www.cai.com/virusinfo/.

``The ICQGREETING worm virus can create and send a large amount of e-mail, which can potentially cause congestion on e-mail systems worldwide,'' said Simon Perry, CA security business manager. ``As Y2K approaches, it is more critical than ever before that computer users and businesses wage war against these malicious virus writers and protect their valuable data with antivirus software that offers total protection.''

CA's new release of InoculateIT Personal Edition 5.0 provides free antivirus software, signature updates and technical support. InoculateIT customers can update their software at http://www.cai.com.

Computer Associates International, Inc. (NYSE: CA - news), the world leader in mission-critical business computing, provides software, support and integration services in more than 100 countries around the world. CA has more than 17,500 employees and had revenue of $5.3 billion in fiscal year 1999.

For more information about CA, please call 631-342-5224 or e-mail info@cai.com. CA's World Wide Web address is http://www.cai.com.

All referenced product names are trademarks of their respective companies.

-- Joe Public (jpublic@webtv.com), December 10, 1999