CBL Data Recovery Technologies Reports Computer Users Being Hit Today By The Chernobyl Virus.

Business Editors

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 26, 2000

CBL Data Recovery Technologies Inc. of Toronto, a leading provider of data recovery services, reports today that computer users in Canada, the United States, England and China have been hit with the Chernobyl virus.

Chernobyl is a version of the CIH virus, so named because it strikes on the 26th of April - the same day as the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. It infects Windows 95 and 98 executable files. Once those executable files are run, the virus becomes resident in the memory of the computer and then infects other files as they are copied or opened.

"The virus affects a personal computer in two ways," says CBL's president Bill Margeson. "First, it has the ability to overwrite sectors at the beginning of the hard drive. Secondly, it may affect some BIOS chipsets rendering the personal computer inoperable." CBL recommends the following:

* It's a good idea to scan your media with the latest versions of

well-known virus protection software. The version of the CIH

virus that is hitting today is variant 1003. If your computer

hasn't been infected, it will therefore still be advisable to

check for this virus on a regular basis.

* If your computer has already been infected and the damage done,

it's best to leave the recovery of your data to professionals

that can find those files at the hex level. This will minimize

any further lasting effects such as overwriting of critical data.

About CBL Data Recovery Technologies Inc.:

CBL Data Recovery Technologies http://www.cbltech.com is a leading provider of data recovery services for clients experiencing data loss due to hardware failure, natural disaster or software corruption. Founded in 1993, CBL Data Recovery Technologies offers data recovery services worldwide through its main Toronto, Canada headquarters and 20 authorized partners, worldwide.