So This is Why I Couldn't Google Yesterday

July 27, 2004 | NEW YORK (AP)

A new computer virus disrupted Google, Yahoo and other leading search engines Monday as it tried to spread itself by repeatedly performing automated queries for additional e-mail addresses.

Those simultaneous searches from thousands of infected computers worldwide taxed the search engines and slowed service for many legitimate Internet users.

The latest virus is a variant of MyDoom, which first appeared in January. The new incarnation came on the same day Google Inc. filed papers detailing its highly anticipated stock offering, estimating its market value to be as high as $36 billion.

Google spokesman Steve Langdon acknowledged that while the site was never crippled, performance was slow for a brief period, longer for "a small percentage of our users and networks."

Yesterday, for the three hours I sat in front of the computer working on my blog and trying to find an internship, Google was out of commission. I never experienced any problems with Google before. It has been my browser of choice as of yet and I use it ALOT. But while Google was down, I was using Yahoo, which was apparently also hit by this virus (I didn't notice any delays). It make me wonder how safe these search engines are. If viruses are now attacking search engines, I feel like Google will be the first to fall victim. Maybe I should try to find an obsqure engine to use. I have enough threat to viruses and parasites slowing down my computer. And now they take my search engines!

This is what the virus does:

Like most other viruses, it activates when a user clicks on e-mail attachment containing the malicious code. The virus searches the user's computer for e-mail addresses to which to send itself.

But in addition, it runs through the search engines any domain names that it finds, and it checks the Web pages returned for additional e-mail addresses.

I don't understand why some one sat around contriving this virus. I am thoughly pissed off.