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Mydoom Author: 'Sorry': Page 2 of 4

"If he's really sorry, then why did he release it," Michele Morelock, technical support leader for anti-virus software maker Sophos Inc., based in Lynnfield, Mass., said. "I would imagine it's much more tongue-in-cheek than saying I'm really sorry for releasing it."

Based on their code, the Mydoom worms are scheduled to launch denial of service attacks against the SCO Group Inc. and Microsoft Corp., starting Feb. 1. A DOS attack means the infected computers are set to overload both companies' web servers with bogus information, in an attempt to prevent access by legitimate users.

Mydoom.B also prevents infected computers from accessing the web sites of Microsoft and many anti-virus software makers, making it difficult for the owner of an infected machine to get help.

Microsoft and SCO have each offered a reward of $250,000 for the arrest and conviction of the Mydoom author. Both companies are also assisting in investigations by the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service and Interpol, an international police organization.

Network Associates, Santa Clara, Calif., estimates that between a half million and a million PCs have been affected with the virus. That number continued to increase Friday at a rate of 12,000 per hour, which was the peak reached on Thursday.