Iowans Alerted to New Computer Virus

Some Iowans may -not- have had functioning computers when they got to work this morning. The latest computer virus called Chernobyl (CHAIR’-no-bul) is wiping out boot sectors and hard drives. One expert says it’ll be tough to fix if you’ve been nailed as your computer may not even start up. Dan Buda (BYOO’-dah) of the Central Iowa Computer User Group says virus protection programs might be able to prevent this type of attack, but he says those security shields are particular. Today is the 13th anniversary of Russia’s Chernobyl nuclear diasater. It was about a month ago that another computer virus, Melissa, targeted e-mail systems. Even though the creator of Melissa was arrested within days, Buda says people will continue to unleash these damaging electronic bugs. Buda says he wouldn’t be surprised if, given the name, this latest virus originated in the former Soviet Union.