VIRUS WARNING

B

Bill69

New member
Hi All,
I received this message a couple of seconds ago, TAKE NOTE it seams to be genuine.

**** Virus Alert ****
Hi All,

I checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus!
I checked Snopes , and it is for real!! Get this E-mail message sent around
to your contacts ASAP.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS!
You should be alert during the next few days. Do not open any message with
an attachment entitled

'POSTCARD FROM HALLMARK,' regardless of who sent it to you.

It is a virus which opens A POSTCARD IMAGE, which 'burns' the whole hard
disc C of your computer. This virus will be received from someone who has
your e-mail address in his/her contact list.
This is the reason why you need to send this e-mail to all your contacts It
is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and
open it.
If you receive a mail called' POSTCARD,' even though sent to you by a
Friend, do not open it!
Shut down your computer immediately.
This is the worst virus announced by CNN. It has been classified by
Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered by
McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus.
This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital
information is kept.
COPY THIS E-MAIL, AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS.
REMEMBER: IF YOU SEND IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US

Bill69
 
Specific warnings are rather pointless, as email subjects and filenames can be so easily changed.

IMHO it's far better to follow some simple rules for reducing the risk:

Never open an attachment in an email message, even if you trust the sender (they may be infected and not know it). If the attachment seems genuine and is of interest, save it, virus scan it, then open it.

Beware of phishing attacks. Never click on a link in an email to a banking or shopping web site. Ignore all email requests for security information.

Keep all software up-to-date. That includes Windows, Firefox, Flash, Adobe Reader, anti-virus definitions, etc.

Don't visit dodgy web sites. Avoid peer-to-peer music sharing systems.

If you have anything on the computer that you care about, back it up frequently.

John
 
Hi All,

The following isn't a hoax
There is also a 'Trojan Horse' on the go, which attack Norton directly, especially Norton 360. I know, unfortunately I caught it.
Norton's start menu is set to 'Automatic'. What this does is switch it to 'Manual' and then switches it off.
The only way around it is to manually reset it to Auto. Norton cant do it because its switched off. However! If you run Norton, and the Trojan is present, Norton will warn you and give you full instructions on how to fix it. This is a current Trojan, I only caught it yesterday.
I don't know if this effects other 'anti virus packages' or other versions of Norton.
Cheers
Pete
 
Last edited:
scorpio48 said:
Hi All,

The following isn't a hoax
There is also a 'Trojan Horse' on the go, which attack Norton directly, especially Norton 360. I know, unfortunately I caught it.
Norton's start menu is set to 'Automatic'. What this does is switch it to 'Manual' and then switches it off.
The only way around it is to manually reset it to Auto. Norton cant do it because its switched off. However! If you run Norton, and the Trojan is present, Norton will warn you and give you full instructions on how to fix it. This is a current Trojan, I only caught it yesterday.
I don't know if this effects other 'anti virus packages' or other versions of Norton.
Cheers
Pete
Click to expand...

you know im tired of this. you think its not a hoex. i get theses all the time in my mailbox. theres always a differn't virus then the one there warning about and its less damaging.
 
trainzbroken said:
you know im tired of this. you think its not a hoex. i get theses all the time in my mailbox. theres always a differn't virus then the one there warning about and its less damaging.
Click to expand...

Yep; I'm fed up as well. Fed up of the idiots who put out these viruses.
I also have dozens of so called warnings, which always go straight to my junk-mail folder, along with the spam Etc; and are never thought of again. The only reason I mentioned this one is that it did happen to me in a moment of carelessness.
Cheers
Pete.
 
john259 said:
Specific warnings are rather pointless, as email subjects and filenames can be so easily changed.

IMHO it's far better to follow some simple rules for reducing the risk:

Never open an attachment in an email message, even if you trust the sender (they may be infected and not know it). If the attachment seems genuine and is of interest, save it, virus scan it, then open it.

Beware of phishing attacks. Never click on a link in an email to a banking or shopping web site. Ignore all email requests for security information.

Keep all software up-to-date. That includes Windows, Firefox, Flash, Adobe Reader, anti-virus definitions, etc.

Don't visit dodgy web sites. Avoid peer-to-peer music sharing systems.

If you have anything on the computer that you care about, back it up frequently.

John
Click to expand...

I am currently having problems with my ISP, they insisted that my problem was a virus or malware because I didn't have any protection for my computer they refused to talk to me until I installed anti-virus software and scanned my computer. Result from following advice such as John's my 4 year old computer was virus and malware free, without the cost of anti-virus software. The most important advice is never ever ever open an attachment period. Inform all the people that you e-mail that they shouldn't send you attachments. The only exception is if you have previously arranged for someone to send you a specific attachment. This is from 20 years experience and never having a virus. IF ever in doubt- delete the e-mail immeadiatly then empty the trash bin.
 
ronbostephens said:
I am currently having problems with my ISP, they insisted that my problem was a virus or malware because I didn't have any protection for my computer they refused to talk to me until I installed anti-virus software and scanned my computer. Result from following advice such as John's my 4 year old computer was virus and malware free, without the cost of anti-virus software. The most important advice is never ever ever open an attachment period. Inform all the people that you e-mail that they shouldn't send you attachments. The only exception is if you have previously arranged for someone to send you a specific attachment. This is from 20 years experience and never having a virus. IF ever in doubt- delete the e-mail immeadiatly then empty the trash bin.
Click to expand...

Hi
Sound advice from you and John, but don't forget, e-mails ain't the only doorway to Viruses. Freeware programs, addons Etc from unknown sites also carry a risk.
These days there is also a high risk from 'copy' sites, that have the same logo, style as a trusted site you have used before.
As I stated in my previous post, in a moment of weakness (I was tired after a long computer session), I opened an attachment that I would normally have deleted straight away.
Its simply a case of 'User Beware'
Cheers
Pete.
 
scorpio48 said:
Hi
Sound advice from you and John, but don't forget, e-mails ain't the only doorway to Viruses. Freeware programs, addons Etc from unknown sites also carry a risk.
These days there is also a high risk from 'copy' sites, that have the same logo, style as a trusted site you have used before.
As I stated in my previous post, in a moment of weakness (I was tired after a long computer session), I opened an attachment that I would normally have deleted straight away.
Its simply a case of 'User Beware'
Cheers
Pete.
Click to expand...

This is very sound advice as I've practiced it too for 20 years as well.

The thing though... Recently there have been some drive-by, click-through downloads that will snatch your browser and install a fake antivirus application. The only way to enable and remove the fake antivirus program is to pay their price so they say. There are many variants on this, and the all come from the former Eastern Block countries in Europe and from Russia. In their download and install process, they turn off the current antivirus and fix the computer so you can't turn it back on. They also lock up IE or any other browser by bringing up numerous pop-up windows, etc. The latest antivirus vendors have solutions to remove these things. I've had both good and bad results with the removal of them.

John
 
Hi,

Well the one in my original post might be a hoax, but I will be watching. Besides it started a good discusion about advice to avoid viruses. I use Norton System Works which does everything you need in one program suit.

Cheers,
Bill69
 
scorpio48 said:
e-mails ain't the only doorway to Viruses.
Click to expand...
Yep, very true. Add to my previous list:
Always virus scan downloaded software before installing it or running it, no matter how much you trust the source (they may have an infection they've not yet detected). You may also wish to anti-adware/anti-spyware scan it.

Everyone should have installed:
One firewall program.
One anti-virus program.
One active anti-adware/anti-spyware program if you wish.
Never more than one of each of the above or they will conflict.
More inactive (scan on demand) anti-adware/anti-spyware programs if you wish - but these programs are inconsistent and often report false positives and trivial items such as most recently used files.
One or more anti-rootkit programs run on demand.
Keep 'em all up-to-date very regularly.

John
 
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