A new variant of the Sober virus known as Win32/Sober.Z@mm is wreaking havoc on Hotmail and MSN servers by sending an unusually high volume of emails, causing delays in the sending and receiving of emails for customers using these services.
Security experts report that some Comcast customers, when attempting to send emails to Hotmail and MSN accounts, received error messages stating that their emails were not delivered. However, Microsoft has stated that while some emails experienced delays, the majority were sent successfully.
A Microsoft spokesperson indicated that this issue was first detected early last week, but no organization has yet proposed a plan to resolve the problem.
The Sober virus first emerged in 2003 and can attack computers running Windows, forcing them to repeatedly send spam emails. Such continuous sending can overwhelm servers and reduce network processing speeds. Last month, a variant of Sober was discovered spreading through emails containing attachments of photos from former schoolmates.
