Experts reveal Kournikova virus origins

The author of the latest computer virus to be spreading worldwide used a toolkit widely available on the internet.

Security experts said that the Anna Kournikova virus was produced by web vandals, known as script kiddies, using an easy to use application.

An anti-virus specialist said that the virus was probably produced using the VBS.WG Virus Construction Kit.

Rolf Rennemo, from anti-virus specialists Trend Micro, said that a number of characteristics betray the rogue file's origins.

According to Trend Micro, the worm is the latest in a series of simple viruses created in this way.

He says that an idiosyncratic function - to direct a victim's web browser to an URL in The Netherlands on the 26 January - echoes earlier self-replicating viruses produced using the kit.

He adds that the current strain should not be a problem if companies have updated their IT security software since earlier incarnations of the rogue VBS attachment appeared last August.