POMONA - A virus-like worm that has disabled tens of thousands of computers worldwide has hit the Cal Poly Pomona campus with a vengeance, disabling 400 computers, officials said.

The campus is responding through its newly created information security office and incident response team, said A. Michael Berman, the university's vice president for instructional and information technology.

"The team is assessing what needs to be done,' Berman said. "It's already created a huge drain on our productivity that's been our biggest problem. People can't use their computers and our technical staff is spending a lot of time on it.'

The virus-like worm, dubbed "LovSan' or "blaster,' attacks Microsoft operating systems by causing computers to constantly shut down and restart.

On July 16, Microsoft Corp. posted a free patch on its Web site that prevents LovSan and similar infections. The underlaying flaw affects nearly all versions of the company's Windows operating system.

Unlike other viruses, some which can delete files, this new attack is relatively mild. But it's still wreaked havoc at Cal Poly, Berman said.

"In some cases, this has been easy to fix,' he said. "But with some of the other computers we had to remove all of the software and replace it. That's when a hacker can get in and get control of a computer.'

The software attack has affected 10 percent of the computers at the university, Berman said.

"Most of our computers are managed by individual departments or colleges,' he said. "We really run a network of networks, so there's no consistent approach across campus as to how we can respond.'

Area businesses have also suffered the LovSan attack.

"I kept trying to get on my computer about a week ago and it would just give a display on my screen that would flicker and then it would shut down in less than a minute,' said Jim Mulholland, owner of Millennium Packaging in Chino.

"We tried to restore it ourselves but because we couldn't keep the computer on long enough, so we took it to the PC House.'

The PC House in Upland repairs computers. Ken Chong, a senior technician, said said he's been getting lots of business because of the attack.

"Most of the computers that have come in over the past few days have had the same type of virus,' he said. "Microsoft has a patch on their Web site to fix it, but if you can't keep your computer on long enough to get to it that doesn't help.'

Chong said he uses an anti-virus program that disables the worm long enough for the patch to be applied.

"It usually will cost a customer between $60 and $100, but we're on the lower end of the scale,' he said.

Berman said even more computers may be affected at Cal Poly.

"It's really hard to know how many have been hit,' he said. "But if an off-campus hacker gets control, there is no security or protection of our information here and a lot of it is confidential.'

Berman also fears that some returning students may bring the virus-like worm to campus via their laptops.

"We're just trying to get the campus ready for the students,' he said. "And this ... has really set us back.''