Rollingthunder - Already commented on you parallel post in JB.
I've been involved with viruses from the days when people used to find it amusing if you talked about computer viruses (My! How attitudes change!)
While I certainly don't think anyone should relax, I do think that it will be difficult for anyone to pull this particular stunt off again.
For one thing, a whole lot of people (corporates in particular) will have switched off host scripting which is what enabled this little booger to execute. Also, all the anti-virus software will now be looking for any mail attachment which is a Visual Basic Script, and hopefully, A-V software will also look for any activity which starts using a MAPI compliant mailing list in an unusual way.
What really added to the rate of propagation of LoveBug was the fact that it mailed to the ENTIRE mailing list on the computers that it hit (Melissa, by contrast, only mailed to the first fifty entries, and propagated a lot slower). Also, it travelled from East to West (most viruses seem to hit the U.S. first, which gives people in other time zones a bit of time to get the word and batten down the hatches).
So, one hell of a lot of stable doors have been bolted after the horse has gone, but that will serve people in good stead in the future.
I'm not saying that it couldn't or won't happen again, but a virus using the same mechanisms won't get too far.
What is perhaps more worrying is the possibility that someone could re-code it so that it propagates stealthily and only triggers the destructive payload somewhat later. Also, if it starts overwriting files other than the ones it does (some of the later variants do just that - going after files with different file extensions).
Apart from some of the options that have already been mentioned in this and other forums (with varying degress of patronage), like "Use an AppleMac" and "Don't open attachments" (I didn't but still got clobbered), it might be worth thinking of other alternatives. For example, I am thinking of installing a parallel hard drive and copying my the contents of my active HD to the backup HD as part of my power down routine. Another possibility is to use a physically separate system purely for e-mail (that gets a bit inconvenient if one is receiving files as attachments that are then used by other applications). Both these solutions add degrees of complexity (and cost), but could be worthwhile alternatives to certain users in certain circumstances.
Anyway, that's my two penn'th (for what it's worth). I am glad to announce that I am beginning to regain my sense of humour (gravely missed over the last few days) and am now viewing the whole episode somewhat more philosophically.
As others have been heard to post (albeit it JB), Fark 'em All!
------------------
Feline
(I Sit, I Watch, I Smile)