Global software giant Microsoft claimed victory today over a computer virus which taunts company boss Mr Bill Gates, but warned users that the threat posed by the Blaster "worm" was far from over.
The virus is believed to have been written by computer hackers with a grudge against Microsoft and has so far affected an estimated 300,000 PCs worldwide.
After weeks battling it in the US Microsoft announced last night that it had side-stepped any lingering threat posed by the worm by taking the targeted web page offline.
"We have been though a number of timezones now with no problems and we do not expect any as the deadline passes in the UK or US," a Microsoft spokesman added.
Although the threat from MS Blaster seemed to have been dealt with, Microsoft urged users to make sure the security flaw was fixed by downloading a "patch" programme from their update site.
Unlike previous viruses, which arrived as an email attachment, the Blaster 'worm' tunnels in undetected via an Internet connection.
Once inside, it slows down processing speed, reducing email trafic to a crawl and causing the machine to crash. It does not appear to delete files or cause major lasting damage, however.
PA