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Police suspect female student of Love Bug virus


Police in Manila believe they have identified the author of the Love Bug virus which is claimed to have reached 45 million users and corrupted over 3 million files worldwide to date. The author used the name "Spyder" in the code of the virus.

The suspect is now a young female computing student, whom local police say is presently a moving target. It is thought she may have already destroyed whatever evidence could link her to the worst computer virus case to date. Previously, a 23 year old man was the main suspect.

It was the computer used to launch the virus which has been traced - the female student is the registered owner of that computer.

The virus caused a propagation of e-mails throughout the world with the subject line "ILOVEYOU". Variations followed, using subject lines such as "JOKE" and "ANTI-VIRUS WARNING". More variants are expected in the coming weeks.

The FBI has been assisting with the investigation by authorities in the Philippines.

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