Yahoo Contains Spread of JavaScript E-mail Worm

JavaScriptSearch
Wednesday, June 14, 2006; 02:03 AM

Yahoo Inc. announced it has contained a malicious program aimed at the users of its e-mail service.

The worm, named "Yamanner,"  scanned contact lists for additional targets as soon as the infected e-mail was opened.

Yahoo said "a very small fraction" of its more than 200 million e-mail accounts were infected Monday when the problem was first identified. The worm didn't affect the Yahoo's new beta version e-mail service.

"We have taken steps to resolve the issue and protect our users from further attacks of this worm," Yahoo spokeswoman Kelley Podboy said. "The solution has been automatically distributed to all Yahoo Mail customers, and requires no additional action on the part of the user."

As a precaution against variations on the Yamanner worm, Yahoo advised its e-mail users to update their antivirus programs and block all incoming correspondence from [email protected].