The first virus affecting StarOffice was detected Tuesday, but so far it isn’t being used to infect computers.Since the virus has not been launched with malicious intent yet, a teenager hacker may have written it, said Roel Schouwenberg, senior research engineer for Kaspersky Lab. The virus uses macros to attack the office suite from Sun Microsystems.Kaspersky is calling the virus “Stardust.” Viruses using macros are rarely seen anymore since simply shutting off a program’s macro feature stops them, Schouwenberg said. Macros can be used to automate certain tasks within a document, such as a repeated calculations on a spreadsheet.Macro viruses were most often written to disrupt Microsoft office applications, Kaspersky wrote on its virus blog. Typically, a virus using macros infects a template, which is then read when opening other documents and infects those also, Schouwenberg said. The Stardust virus is contained in a StarOffice document that uses macros and then infects a global template. If a user opens a document infected with Stardust, every StarOffice text document with a “.sxw” extension, or document template with a “.stw” extension, will be infected, Schouwenberg said. When one of those documents is launched, it opens an adult image hosted on a tripod.com server, a website hosting service from Lycos.So far, the bug does not pose a risk since it remains a proof-of-concept virus, a term meaning the virus was written to prove it could be done, but is not yet being used maliciously.“We’re not hyping it,” Schouwenberg said. “The world is not coming to an end. It’s just a [proof-of-concept].”But with a little tweaking, Schouwenberg said the code, which uses an old application programming interface, could be modified to affect OpenOffice 2.0, an open-source suite.-Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service For related news coverage, read Password-Stealing Trojan Arrives in German Spam. Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Sponsored by Palo Alto Networks Operational technology systems require a robust Zero Trust strategy in 2024 Zero Trust provides a foundation for creating a stronger security posture in 2024. By Navneet Singh, vice president of marketing, network security, Palo Alto Networks Dec 05, 2023 6 mins Security brandpost Sponsored by AWS in collaboration with IBM How digital twin technology is changing complex industrial processes forever As the use cases for digital twins proliferate, it is becoming clear that data-driven enterprises with a track record of innovation stand the best chance of success. By Laura McEwan Dec 05, 2023 4 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by AWS in collaboration with IBM Why modernising applications needs to be a ‘must’ for businesses seeking growth Around one-third of enterprises are spending heavily on application modernisation and aiming for cloud native status. The implications for corporate culture, structure and priorities will be profound. By Laura McEwan Dec 05, 2023 5 mins Digital Transformation opinion 11 ways to reduce your IT costs now Reorienting IT’s budget toward future opportunities is a big reason why CIOs should review their IT portfolios with an eye toward curbing unnecessary spending and realizing maximum value from every IT investment. By Stephanie Overby Dec 05, 2023 11 mins Budget Cloud Management IT Governance Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe