Situation:
You heard that there is a new worm threat that goes by any of the following names:

W32.Sobig.A@mm
W32.Sobig.B@mm
W32.Sobig.C@mm
W32.Sobig.D@mm
W32.Sobig.F@mm

You wonder if there is any danger of this worm infecting your Macintosh.

Solution:
This is a Windows-specific worm and cannot infect a Macintosh. Since this is a worm that can be email based, a Macintosh user could pass the worm on through an infected email, by forwarding it to a Windows user.

W32.Sobig is a mass-mailing email worm which exploits a vulnerability in Windows versions of Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express. The Macintosh versions of Microsoft Outlook Express do not have this vulnerability.

If you receive a Sobig-infected email, delete the email and do not forward it to anyone. Deleting a Sobig-infected email deletes the worm from your computer. If you open this email or choose not to delete it, nothing will happen. It is best to delete the email, because there is no reason to keep it. The only way you can infect a PC with Sobig is by forwarding a Sobig-infected email to a person using a PC.

References:
For more general information about mass-mailing viruses or worms, please read the document Are Macintoshes affected by mass-mailing viruses or worms?

Document ID: 2003082009433911
Last Modified: 09/02/2003
Date Created: 08/20/2003
Operating System(s): Mac OS 8.1 - 9.x, Mac OS X v10.0.x, Mac OS X v10.1.x, Mac OS X v10.2.x
Product(s): MAC - Department, Norton AntiVirus 5.0 - Mac, Norton AntiVirus 6.0 - Mac, Norton AntiVirus 7.0 - Mac, Norton AntiVirus 8.0 - Mac, Norton AntiVirus 9.0 - Mac