A computer virus that attacks systems run on Microsoft Windows had disrupted at least half a dozen Bermuda businesses and caused problems for any number of home users yesterday.

The worm, called MSBlast or Lovesan, can reportedly take down a network, or cause systems to crash, freeze, shut down or restart without prompting.

The virus prompted Microsoft to post an “urgent alert” message on its website letting customers know that several versions of its Microsoft Windows operating system - MS Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 - could be affected by the virus.

The company said it had become aware of, and began investigating the worm, just before noon on Monday.

The virus, designed to take advantage of a Microsoft Windows vulnerability identified about a month ago, was also expected to attack Microsoft Window's update site this Friday.

The worm, which reportedly does not travel specifically by e-mail but can also spread through an Internet connection, was expected to affect a larger number of home users as businesses were more likely to have the latest virus protection systems or Microsoft issued patches in place.

Walter Cooke, chief security officer at Bermuda-based technology company QuoVadis, said yesterday afternoon that the virus had already hit several local firms.

“Even at this early stage, we know at least a half dozen Bermudian companies have been seriously impacted by the MS Blaster worm with losses caused by system downtime and business disruption. The worm continues to propagate rapidly across the Internet, showing that many companies are not adequately patching their systems against known vulnerabilities. Appropriate system maintenance must be a part of every company's security agenda,” he said.

One area reportedly not affected however was the Bermuda Government with Government e-Commerce advisor Nigel Hickson telling The Royal Gazette: “Yes, we are well aware of the MSBlast Worm but as far as we can tell at the moment the worm has had no significant affect on the Government system.

“The Government system is based on Microsoft but so far it looks like our procedures, in terms of anti-virus measures, have resulted in our being fortunate enough to have protected Government information from the worm.”

He added however that he had some evidence that various Bermuda businesses had been affected by the virus and said that should be a wake-up call for companies to take viruses very seriously and make sure they had the latest anti-virus software in place.

Bermuda Internet provider Logic Communications also said it knew of some companies having been affected by the worm although its technicians had been able to get systems fixed and back up and running by yesterday afternoon.

Logic marketing manager Karla de Sousa said the company had also heard from a number of its residential customers who had been infected with the virus.

“So far Logic has had some calls from home users as opposed to businesses as most businesses are protected with firewalls and have up to date security, “ she said.

The company said the worm, which was spreading through an interface on a TPC port on the computer, should not affect systems with up-to-date Norton anti-virus software installed.

A website run by another anti-virus firm, Symantec, (http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blaster.worm.html) was also recommended by Logic to those hit by the virus.