As much of a sign of the new year as the big ball in New York City is the sighting of the first spread of a computer worm. In this case, it hit users in the form of an e-mail with the subject line "Happy New Year!"

The e-mail contains an attachment, postcard.exe, which, if opened, shuts down the computer's security system, allowing for easy attacks from hackers. It will also attempt to automatically send the virus to other users.

The contained virus is known as Luder.A, which first spread through e-mails last year.