Dear Conch-L subscribers,
This is off-topic, but very important. Please take a moment to read this:
Beyond the [log in to unmask] virus that Guido, and I'm sure others are receiving, look out for questionable emails with what at first seem to be MP3 attachments. See below this message for some examples that I've received over the past two days (total of 20 or so infected email attachments and counting).
DO NOT OPEN THESE EMAIL ATTACHMENTS! Please delete them.
This virus takes bits and pieces of information from your computer and sends them out to email addresses in your Microsoft Outlook address book, if you are using this email software program.
Friends - this is not the first time the conchological community has been hit with computer viruses. For as little as $30 a year, you can subscribe to Symmantec (Norton's), and other anti-virus software to get immediate on-line updates loaded on to your computer as soon as they become available when you connect to the Internet. This is an investment in safe computing. Besides, who wants to have your personal computer files dumped out over the Internet, and cause multiple inconveniences and embarrassment for yourself and others.
Many of the most recent computer viruses are nuisance viruses, which may not crash-and-burn your hard drive, but will cause undo problems for all of your friends and associates in your address book. Remember, it is opening the attachment that causes the virus to proliferate. Anti-virus software allows you to quarantine and repair the attachment, or totally delete the file, which is what I have my anti-virus software set to do automatically. Besides, the virus-du jour (badtrans and MP3) are not repairable. Just delete them.
Using this automatically updated anti-virus software not only insures that you will be notified when an incoming email has a virus, but you can rest assured that all of the email that you send out is also virus-free. I am using Norton's (no endorsement), and every email that I send out is scanned and confirmed to be safe to send.
Another little trick to side-step these problems is to access http://www.mail2web.com. This nifty Web site allows you to access your email via a Web browser and view your email before you download it off your Internet Service Provider's (ISP's) email server. The advantage of this is that you can delete virus emails before you download it to your hard drive. All you need to do is enter your email address and password in the appropriate fields and Viola!, instant email access direct from the ISP email server.
Emails are listed in sequential order of receipt and can be viewed without damage to your computer. Deleting an email with virus attachments is as easy as placing a checkmark next to the email with your mouse, and then clicking the delete button. This was a blessing-in-disguise during the last spat of conchology-circulated viruses, when I received literally hundreds of virus-laden emails during a two-week period.
The "mail2web" site is sometimes slow to connect and open emails, but it is worth the wait. Be patient. Make sure to use the "secure connection" option link below the "email address" and "password" fields on "mail2web's" home page.
Many ISP's suggest using "mail2web" as a first-line of defense when you have been targeted with virus emails. It is just another device to help protect us from someone who has nothing better to do with their spare time but create computer viruses. Maybe they should take up another hobby -- like shell collecting.
Rich
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Rich Goldberg
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
Web site: http://www.worldwideconchology.com
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SOME OF THE EMAIL VIRUSES THAT I'VE RECEIVED IN THE LAST 48 HOURS
From: "Thomas Honker" [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re:
Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2001 19:30:08 +0000
Attachments: Me_nude.MP3.scr,Size: 29020 bytes.
From: "Caledonian Seashells Ltd" [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re:
Date: 27 Nov 2001 23:15:43 +1100
Attachments: news_doc.DOC.scr,Size: 29020 bytes.
From: "Adrian McQuire" [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re:
Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 16:28:23 +0000
Attachments: fun.MP3.pif,Size: 29020 bytes.
From: "Joanna" [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re:
Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 12:19:01 -0500
Attachments: stuff.MP3.pif,Size: 29020 bytes.
Original Message:
-----------------
From: Guido T. Poppe [log in to unmask]
Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 13:14:44 +0100
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: virus
Hello,
just got e-mails from
Bruce <[log in to unmask]>
Marcel A.P. Verhaeghe <[log in to unmask]>
Allan Limpus <[log in to unmask]>
Maria Goodwin <[log in to unmask]>
that are virus infected with:
I use Conch-L in the hope they can read it and in order to warn others. You
can find information on the virus on:
[log in to unmask]" target="_blank">http:[log in to unmask]
ml
Best regards, Guido
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