Computer bug leads users astray to porn sites

By NAOMI LARKIN

The e-mail virus called "Homepage" is continuing to irritate computer users, dragging some to pornographic websites.

About 80,000 computers worldwide were infected with the virus in 24 hours this week, says anti-virus software maker Trend Micro.

"Homepage" infiltrated more than 50 Australian organisations, including Parliament House in Canberra, banks and businesses, and overloaded e-mail servers throughout New Zealand.

But it has caused little damage other than sending itself off to other e-mail users and trying to open one of four pornographic websites.

Richard Baldry, managing director of Sophos Anti-Virus, told the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday that all the porn sites looked like they had been designed by the same person and "Homepage" might be a cunning marketing ploy.

The virus is similar to the "I Love You" bug that caused worldwide havoc and an estimated $US7 billion ($16.5 billion) worth of damage last year.

Air New Zealand spokesman Cameron Hill said yesterday that the virus had infiltrated the company's e-mail system but had not affected reservations and ticketing systems.

"It is still causing some disruptions as we try and corral it but it certainly has not gone anywhere near any mainframe applications."

Russell Fulton, University of Auckland computer security officer, said "Homepage" arrived on Thursday afternoon and "caused a few problems."

"As soon as we got details about what it exactly was we were able to block it on our central servers."

The virus is spread by an e-mail with the subject "Homepage" and a message reading "Hi! You've got to see this page! It's really cool."