CEDAR FALLS - A computer virus is annoying online users in the Cedar Valley and across the nation and planet, firing German-language spam into e-mail in boxes But the modern menace does not appear to have caused much damage.

Information officials said anti-virus systems - including those used by the University of Northern Iowa, Wartburg College and Cedar Falls Utilities - are doing a good job blocking or quarantining the spam. Unlike others, this latest version of the Sober virus isn't designed to infect computers but instead directs users to Web sites with political messages, some with virulent neo-Nazi rhetoric.

UNI quarantined tens of thousands of the faulty e-mail messages over the weekend, said Kenneth Connelly, systems and operations manager for the campus ITS-Network Services. That means the college rounds up the spam but gives faculty and students the option to access the questionable messages.

Users likely don't want to open this can of worms.

The latest round of the Sober virus, first discovered a week ago, sends out waves of e-mails to addresses found on PCs already infected. A small percentage contained links to Web sites that tried to infect visiting machines with the virus.

"The problem with these particular mail messages is that they are fairly small and there are not a lot in them that look like normal spam," Connelly said. "It's not trying to get you to buy anything. It's just a little text and the link of a Web page."

Some online users, however, found in boxes choked with messages appearing to be from acquaintances. Online experts encourage users to refrain from clicking on unsolicited links or unsolicited attachments, even from friends.

Kris Brunkhorst of Waverly - a Macintosh owner and an apparent victim of Sober spam - said she didn't attempt to go to any of the links. She uses Netscape, which she said opens e-mail even if she wants to delete it. Brunkhorst was surprised when her Apple G5 froze as it attempted to download 107 messages, some with familiar e-mail tags. She had hoped her Mac was tougher than that.

"I don't have a choice whether to open them up or not," Brunkhorst said. "Once you (click) down to who it is from in the in box it automatically opened up."

On Wednesday, her in box continued to field return-to-sender messages with bogus addresses she never sent. One combined her mother-in-law's name with the tail "wartburg.edu." Her mother-in-law, who received at least 200 unwanted messages, does not work for the college.

Most viruses take advantage of Microsoft, like operating system vulnerabilities or address book capabilities, said Gary Wipperman, director of Information Technology Services at Wartburg.

"Since most people use the Windows platform, it is the most bang for the buck (for the virus sender)," Wipperman said.

But other programs are vulnerable, too.

Variations of the Sober virus have impacted millions of computer users around the globe since it was launched in 2003.

Among the many messages users received recently included subject lines with political propaganda: "60 Years of Freedom: Who's Celebrating?" referencing the end of World War II; "Honorable Action" which contained a link to the Web site of Germany's right-wing nationalist political party; and "Dresden Bombing Is To Be Regretted Enormously," referring to an Allied attack.

Other variants of the Sober virus are designed to send spam, but the latest variation is much more successful than its predecessors, prompting some experts to suggest more attacks could be ahead, according to a report by the Associated Press.

"I am concerned to the point that your address book isn't safe. It isn't secure," Brunkhorst said. "If they can have access to your address book, what else?"

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Contact Karen Heinselman at (319) 291-1570 or karen.heinselman@wcfcourier.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.