Melissa (computer virus)
Mass-mailing macro virus / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Melissa virus is a mass-mailing macro virus released on or around March 26, 1999. It targets Microsoft Word and Outlook-based systems and created considerable network traffic. The virus infects computers via email; the email is titled "Important Message From," followed by the current username. Upon clicking the message, the body reads, "Here's that document you asked for. Don't show anyone else ;)." Attached is a Word document titled "list.doc," containing a list of pornographic sites and accompanying logins for each. It then mass-mails itself to the first fifty people in the user's contact list and disables multiple safeguard features on Microsoft Word and Microsoft Outlook.
This article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject. (July 2018) |
Common name | Melissa |
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Technical name | |
Type | Macro virus |
Author(s) | David L. Smith |
Operating system(s) affected | Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP[2] |