Call it the Frankenworm. The latest threat to hit the Internet is a piecemeal compilation of programs cobbled together to do a single job: spread across the Internet. The Frankenstein's monster of code stitches together a widely available file server, one of several public programs to exploit a widespread Windows flaw, and common techniques for compromising computers. The combination is unoriginal, but effective. The worm--also known as W32/Lovsan.worm and W32.MSBlaster--is successful not because its creator was knowledgeable about programming, but because a great many people whose computers are connected to the Internet are still ignorant of security.

"I'm not going to give the guy who wrote it a lot of credit," said Vincent Gullotto, vice president for security firm Network Associates' antivirus emergency response team. "It was effective--it did what it set out to do." In most countries, laws prohibit the release of self-propagating code onto the Internet. However, finding the authors of e-mail viruses and worms is extremely difficult, making harsh laws unlikely to dissuade the individuals who release the programs. Gullotto stresses that home users are going to have to pay more attention to security in the future and corporations must better secure their networks if they are to dodge future--even poorly written--worms. "I think education is a constant with anybody in that they need to understand that threats are evolving," he said.