WASHINGTON (voa) - A computer worm has spread rapidly through the Internet, infecting tens of thousands of home and business computers around the world.
The virus-like worm, known as Blaster or LovSan, takes over vulnerable computers through a flaw in the Microsoft Windows operating system.
It slows down or crashes the computers. Security officials say it will not harm the hard drive, but will scan the Internet for other computers to infect.
Microsoft and the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning about the worm last month. Microsoft offers a patch to guard against it.
The worm, which operates independent of the computer user, was first reported in the United States on Monday, and quickly spread to Asia and Europe.
Infected computers are also programmed to launch an attack Saturday on the Microsoft site that offers the protective patch.
The worm also contains a message to Microsoft founder Bill Gates, telling him to "stop making money and fix your software."
Security officials fear hackers could modify the worm to make it more disruptive.
Urgent action for Windows users: Install the security patch
New W32-Blaster Windows Worm Infects Computers Worldwide
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