Inner Workings of the Worm
The virus primarily affects users of Microsoft's Outlook e-mail program, though any e-mail user who receives a tainted message could be in trouble.

"This doesn't work through Microsoft Word like Melissa did, and it has the potential to spread far more rapidly,"
The Worm.Explorer.Zip program is even sneakier than the famed Melissa virus, and does far more damage.

Here's how it works:
A user receives an e-mail that appears to be from someone they've e-mailed previously. The subject line is usually a response to an e-mail sent by the user. Thus, both the address and subject appear both familiar and innocuous.
When the user opens the e-mail, the following message appears: "Hi, [Recipient Name]! I received your email and I shall send you a reply ASAP. Till then, take a look at the attached zipped docs. Bye." Outlook users will also see a file attachment called "zipped_files.exe" and possibly an icon.

Users should not open or click on this file.
This activates the virus. If the user clicks on the file, he or she gets an error message, which seems innocent enough. At the same time, however, the Worm moves into action, searching for random files on the user's hard drive, deleting Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point files along with important files directly related to the Windows operating system. At the same time, the Worm replicates itself by sending the same e-mail, "zipped_files.exe" included, to every e-mail address in the user's inbox.

How It Works
The worm enters a target computer through an e-mail that appears to have come from someone the user e-mailed before. It comes with a file attachment called "zipped_files.exe." The text of the e-mail customarily reads: "Hi [Recipient Name]! I received your email and I shall send you a reply ASAP. Till then, take a look at the attached zipped docs. Bye" If a user then clicks to open that file, the worm is activated. It proceeds to randomly destroy certain files on the target computer, then replicates itself through the e-mail addresses in the in box.