Lookout for this Virus

[gwpriester]

Out of 11 messages I received this morning, 9 contained the virus infected attachment. Four were from one person and 5 from another.

Sheesh. And they take so long to download.

At this rate, I'll have to go to breakfast and see if the messages are finished downloading when I am done with breakfast.

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

Bleats Trevor a Mumble

[Peter Clifton]

Gary

I haven't used one in a while, but it might be worth trying out a POP3 mailbox scanner.

With one of these you can look at your mailbox and checkout the text in the message without downloading the whole message, if it looks suspect then you can also delete it.

Being such a popular guy and all, until this outbreak subsides, some people are talking most of this week before that happens, it may be worth trying out.

Here is a link to one such program

http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~kempston/smb/index.html

I haven't tried it recently, but it looks like the one I used a couple of years back to clear out a 20 megabyte email from our work account. I found it by using Google and using the keywords 'POP3 mailbox scanner' for the search criteria.

Hope this is of some use.

Peter

[raffon]

If your ISP uses Linux for its email, and if you want to check your email before you download it, just telnet in and use pine. Start>run>telnet>connect>"yourisp.com"
login with username and password. At prompt type "pine" and go from there. I use it to clear out all the spam I get before downloading in my email client. You can use it to read your mail if you're not at home too!

TANSTAAFL

[gwpriester]

Great suggestion about the Mailbox Scanner. I'm going to need it. I have received at least a dozen more Hello, How are you messages. Such a chatty and friendly little message, too.

Which leads me to this:

Many of us dutifully go to the store, buy some Virus protection software, install it on our computers, and then assume that we are protected.

WRONG!

First of all, any software that comes in a box is anywhere from a few months to a few years old. It's true. So merely installing protection software is not enough.

Go to the protection software company's web site and download the latest DAT files. Also, take a moment to make sure your software is properly configured. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.

As some have mentioned here, many companies, such as Norton and McAfee, offer frequent updates, some as often as every night. McAfee has a program called McAfee Clinic which automatically downloads and installs the latest files while you are hanging out here in the conference. It also updates the Virus Protection engine from time to time. All in the background.

Virus protection software is cheap when you compare it to the price of a new computer and the lost time and work if your hard drive gets fried.

An ounce of protection is worth a pound (Sterling) of cure.

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

to rub elm beehives

[pduggan]

I subscribe to the McAfee Clinic 'Active Shield' thing. Sure, it sometimes drives me up the wall when it keeps telling me about yet more updates, but it does its job!

Peter</p>

Peat Stack or Pete's Tack?</p>

[\"W\"]

Today was my first day on my new job. I am replacing a fella who has worked there for 12 years, he decided to take pension early. For the past couple of months I'd go in every odd day and try to get a glance and feel for my future position but try and not to get in anybody's way. Before today, I did quite a bit of contract work for the company, at home. They asked me on full-time so I accepted. The first order of the day was to look his system over (the one I inherited).
I checked out the build of the virus scan and the last time it was updated. It was Norton (circa 1998) 30 DAY TRIAL.... and needless to say, it ran out 3000 years ago (we're talkin' computer years!!) I immediately DL'd another trial copy from Symantec as a stop gap just to see what's living on his system. I load it, grab some more
up-to-the-minute definitions via "live-update", then run the scanner. Here's what I found living on it:

3 viruses:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>Hybris95
KAK wscript.dr
(and our new friend)Sircam[/list]

47 infected files
11 (cannot fix)
all cannot be quarantined

I'm wiping out the drive tommorrow, and starting fresh. It's a bloody mess, and a real shame.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Many of us dutifully go to the store, buy some Virus protection software, install it on our computers, and then assume that we are protected.

WRONG!
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
BANG ON, Partner!!!

Wayne

[gwpriester]

Peter

I noticed a familiar sea horse logo that looks like it was created with Xara XD. I'd be willing to bet it was. Did you notice it?

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

to rub elm beehives