Virus!
The infamous VBS source for the ILOVEYOU virus (which appeared in 2000) is here.
Check it out!
(Not to worry; it's a text link; if you click, you'll get
the source, not the action. It's also broken in a couple places.)
Pretty disorganized as VBS code. The main thing is that
there is no way to safely run executables you get in email,
even from friends. Even java attachments are unsafe (unike java
applets). There are legitimate grey areas, but untrusted executables
should not receive access to your local machine's file system.
Java applets behave this way; Postscript interpreters usually (but
be sure to check) also enforce this restriction. VBS does not!
Is FDISK (so named because it f's your disk) a virus just because
if you email it to someone they can
damage their data with it?
The real fault that the ILOVEYOU virus was so successful lies with Microsoft.
Here are two things to make your email safer:
- configure it to make running programs (and macros) attached to email very difficult.
- configure it so that programs run with severely restricted permissions;
for example, unable to write to any normal file.
All responsible operating-system vendors provide these facilities.
Does yours? Not if it's Microsoft.