Warning - virus attached to some e-greetings (somewhat OT)

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MaryL - 15 Dec 2004 21:06 GMT

This is somewhat off-topic, but I thought it was appropriate because many of
us are sending e-greetings at this time of year.

Be careful when opening electronic greetings. Here is part of a report that
I read on CNN, which warns of a new virus. You need to watch for
e-greetings with the misspelled word happy "hollydays." If you see it,
delete the message unopened (and *do not* have your email set with a
previewer that lets you view the contents of the message before opening it).

"Grinch-like virus writers are spreading their version of holiday cheer by
embedding a variant of the so-called 'Zafi' e-mail worm inside electronic
greetings.

E-mails with the misspelled attachment 'Happy Hollydays' arrived in inboxes
Tuesday, with the subject line 'Merry Christmas.' A worm is hiding inside
the attachment.

It propagates itself via e-mail contact lists when the attached file is
opened and could render infected computers more vulnerable to spammers or
hackers."

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MaryL
Holiday safety tips for cats:
http://community-2.webtv.net/getcathelp/holidaysafety/

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lavender154@yahoo.com - 15 Dec 2004 23:09 GMT

Thanks Mary, its always good to be informed on the latest virus's and
worms. Would be nice if all the anti-virus protections actually
prevented most of these...take care, Lorna still a cat -lover !!!!!

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Arjun Ray - 16 Dec 2004 01:45 GMT

> This is somewhat off-topic, but I thought it was appropriate because
> many of us are sending e-greetings at this time of year.

There was a time when viruses in email were staple jokes on newbies.
(Happy Times, anyone?)

The obvious solution - stop using MICROS~1 bozoware - is too easy, of
course. That's why victims get no sympathy from me.

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MaryL - 16 Dec 2004 14:24 GMT

>> This is somewhat off-topic, but I thought it was appropriate because
>> many of us are sending e-greetings at this time of year.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> The obvious solution - stop using MICROS~1 bozoware - is too easy, of
> course. That's why victims get no sympathy from me.

In my case (as is also true for many others), I really don't have a choice.
OE is the only browser supported by the university where I work. I can't
even install programs because only one person in the department has
administrator rights over all of our computers, and it would not be
practical for each of us to demand specific programs (although I have had
him install a few of my favorites -- WordPerfect, an address book program,
etc.). I can do as I wish at home, of course, but I still use OE so I can
keep the same setups as I use at work. I do use many different programs at
home because I am my own "administrator."

MaryL

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Dick Peavey - 16 Dec 2004 18:03 GMT

Really OT.

Linux is susceptible to viruses, Trojan horses, worms, too. There are
few attacks because MS Windows dominates the market, but Linux is also
vulnerable.

The obvious solution is safe computing, regardless of OS. That is quite
a job of educating users.

--
Dick

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Arjun Ray - 18 Dec 2004 22:28 GMT

>> The obvious solution - stop using MICROS~1 bozoware - is too easy, of
>> course. That's why victims get no sympathy from me.
>
> Really OT.

Agreed, though the subject crops up everywhere from time to time.

> Linux is susceptible to viruses, Trojan horses, worms, too. There are
> few attacks because MS Windows dominates the market, but Linux is also
> vulnerable.

There's no comparison, and it has nothing to do with size of market.

http://www.linuxmafia.com/~rick/faq/index.php?page=virus

But, aamof, I wasn't talking about the OS necessarily (though XP might
qualify). Win2k (basically, NT4 + USB support) is an adequate platform.
And there's plenty of third party application software written by clueful
people for that platform.

Just get rid of everything that came for "free" from Micro$oft when you
ordered your computer (especially Windows Scripting Host).

I've used M$ OSs for years, and I never once suffered a virus attack. And
I didn't even have to think about it. All it took was using properly
written software.

> The obvious solution is safe computing, regardless of OS. That is quite
> a job of educating users.

The education that users need is that Microsoft is to software as
McDonalds is to food. The implications of a steady diet for the long term
are equally deadly.

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