Worm alert: Alcarys causes alarm

Anti-virus company Symantec is warning IT users of a virulent new worm seen in the wild with the ability to overwrite files and infect Microsoft Word documents.

Called W32.Alcarys@mm, the worm has so far not spread widely, but Symantec classifies its ability to spread as "high" - the highest rating it can give.

The worm can be identified quite easily, carrying the subject line: "sounds of sex and other stuffs", and contains four separate attachments.

When opened the worm emails all recipients in a victim's address book, overwrites all ".htm", ".scr", ".com", and ".exe" files, and disables Word security settings.

Symantec also said that once received, the worm is difficult to remove.