A new computer worm is spreading fast in Hong Kong and the rest of the world, experts have warned.
The government-funded Computer Emergency Response Team Co-ordination Centre yesterday issued a warning about the Zafi.b worm, but it has not received any attack report in Hong Kong.
'The virus has probably surfaced according to information from overseas, even though reports have not come in yet,' said a centre spokesman.
The worm - which attacks computers running the Windows operating system - spreads by mass-mailing itself from infected computers. It may also infiltrate folders shared by two or more computers.
Once executed, the worm creates new files in the Windows systems folder.
Fortunately, Zafi.b is more of a nuisance than a serious attack, otherwise systems would be crashing all over the world. It was merely slowing down e-mail systems, said Michael Gazeley, of Network Box Corporation, who estimated the worm first arrived at the weekend.
The corporation is a local computer security company that monitors computer attacks.