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SEATTLE (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. is warning its customers about a computer worm that exploits a flaw in its Internet Explorer browser.
A security bulletin on the company's Web site says Microsoft started investigating a "mass mailer worm," dubbed W32/Mimail(at)MM, late Friday morning.
The worm spreads through e-mail if recipients open an attached zip file -- used to condense information so it can move faster over the Internet -- then open an HTML file inside the zip file, the bulletin said.
The worm exploits a vulnerability the company addressed in a security bulletin issued April 23, the bulletin said.
On Saturday, Microsoft spokesman Sean Sundwall downplayed the worm's potential to cause major security problems.
If someone opens the e-mail, the zip file and the HTML file, the virus is sent to all e-mail addresses the worm finds on that computer, Sundwall said.
"The damage is simply an annoying e-mail," Sundwall said.
Microsoft's Web site directs customers to a security patch designed to fix the problem.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
