When email notifications were sent out by Websuite to the registered agents who made the cut to become e-PRO 500 agents, they received an unpleasant surprise along with the good news. Seems a common harmless virus called the "W97M.Marker" virus piggy-backed on the attachments.

The company quickly sent out a memo alert and a link to a virus management download at Symantec, calling the virus "minor."

"The e-PRO 500 received a Microsoft Word 97 e-mail attachment which contained a harmless virus called W97M.Marker," said the memo. "This virus is rated 'common' by the AntiVirus Research Center and does absolutely no damage to the recipient's computer or system. It can be repaired with any antivirus software. The W97M.Marker virus creates a randomly named temporary text file on the recipient's hard drive which, again, presents no harm.

The virus gaff is nothing short of an embarrassment for Websuite, which quickly stepped up to the plate with corrections and apologies. But the company is having to battle unfounded rumors that it had unleashed the infamous system-wrecking "Melissa" virus on its unsuspecting e-PRO subscribers.

"At least it provided a good exercise for the e-PROs in handling viruses," joked Kirk Klinkhammer, vice president of Websuite. "but it was still embarassing for us.

The irony of viruses is that they are work disrupters that are inadvertently passed among working people through shared files. Saul Klein, president of Internet Crusade says the e-PRO incident ought to be a lesson for Realtors. "We've noticed that more and more people send documents with viruses," he says. "The Internet makes the world a business environment and more people are spreading viruses.

"If you were a Realtor and sent your client an infected document, you would lose the client," he says. "Viruses can be serious."

Klein says that virus management should be part of routine computer maintenance and that virus detection software should be run frequently. Agents should do the following to protect their systems:

1. Download or buy virus detection software.
2. Run the virus scan.
3. Update the virus software every 30 days by going to the provider's site and checking for new viruses. You can also set Windows to remind you to go and get the latest update. "Put it in your dateplanner," says Klein. "It could cost you and you'll be sorry that you didn't update."
4. Never open a file with ".exe" as the file name. These files almost certainly contain viruses.

"We regret this situation but wish to remind all (Realty Times) readers that there are millions of computer viruses in existence on the Internet. Some cause damage, some are hoaxes and others are harmless," says Klinkhammer. "Furthermore, we assure all readers that our company's vigilance on virus elimination has increased to its highest possible level to prevent this from ever happening again.

Editor's note: For complete information about W97M.Marker, visit http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/marker.html