E-mail Virus Wreaking Havoc Worldwide

Talon News ^ | June 17, 2004 | By Jimmy Moore

[boomop1]

Your shorts too tight?

[Steve_Seattle]

When is the government going to get serious about finding and prosecuting the assholes who create these things? There should be a minimum 10 year sentence for anyone creating a virus.

[2banana]

See post #6

[kayak]

We have a code number set up between us and our kids. If we're sending files to each other, we include that code in the Subject line. If we get email with attachments from our kids and that code isn't there we don't open it. Period. We write them back (a new message, not a Reply) and tell them and, if it's legit, they resend with the code in place.

[OldFriend]

Thanks for that great idea!!!

I am so dependent upon the computer that they understand my concerns and don't complain..... but a code word in the subject line would be the perfect solution.

[boomop1]

Thanks disregard my bellicose and my belly.

[Lazamataz]

When is the government going to get serious about finding and prosecuting the assholes who create these things? There should be a minimum 10 year sentence for anyone creating a virus.

I'll go you one better. There should be a minimum 10 year sentence for anyone who even catches a virus.

[Lazamataz]

It's more like a stranger asking you if they can borrow your car "just for a few minutes".

You mean it's NOT okay to lend your car to strangers?

I gotta stop doing that,

[raybbr]

My computer is very well protected. However, there are a lot of people who aren't computer savvy. Are you blaming them or the writer of the virus?

[raybbr]

Geez, I can't believe you two. Blaming the victim. Yes, try to protect yourself but when you get attacked you blame the poor schlub who's computer go wrecked? I don't get that at all.

[AppyPappy]

Anyone smart enough to have email should know better than to open unknown attachments.

[thoughtomator]

Okay, so someone who can't drive takes a car, crashes, and destroys it. Is he not to blame just because he is also the victim? Just like a car, a computer is a machine that requires some basic skills to operate, and the first responsibility of the user is to be, at the bare minimum, an adequate operator.

[Use It Or Lose It]

Perhaps you or someone else could explain this one: I received a "returned" email that I supposedly sent to the Toledo Symphony. The message I got in the returned email was that the one I sent had a virus that could not be repaired. I did not send anything to the Toledo Symphony.

[Cicero]

I haven't seen this one, although I've been affected by past email plagues.

If you have Norton AV properly configured and updated, it will remove this kind of attachment before you even have a change to open it. It doesn't just give you a warning; it quarantines the attachment and substitutes a brief text message saying that Norton has just saved you from infection.

If kids use your computer you need to have that kind of setup. And if your kids or grandmother uses a laptop, then you need to help them keep it updated.

[JoJo Gunn]

Let's examine the e-mail in question, shall we?

Check this out kid!!!

Send me back bro, when you'll be done...(if you know what i mean...) See ya

jennifer the wild girl xxx07.jpg.pif

It's not a question of being "computer savvy" when someone's curiousity is piqued by something advertised as sexual in nature. It's more a question of how savvy you are at keeping your pants up.

Even a newbie has the ability to trust it's instincts when it gets an e-mail like this, to be able to tell itself "Hey, that's not like something my friend/cousin/Momma is drawn to. Why is she/he sharing this with me?".

You're coming across as an Enabler.

[solo gringo]

This Virus does not only come in with the headings they have listed.If some one that has opened one of these things and email you then you get it also.It will also infect your virus scan.I have macafee and trend it by passed both and infected both of them.

[Cicero]

Many email viruses use false return addresses, or many of them simply claim to be returned email.

If your computer tests out to be infected, then it could actually have sent the message out on its own while your back was turned. If not, then it's a false address or a false message.

[chilepepper]

This international e-mail virus infects a computer...

This is not exactly correct, and should read, "...infects computers running Microsoft operating systems.

[hummingbird]

I'm getting server error messages when trying to search in Yahoo & Google...obviously, I can get into FR (unless this is an illusion!) and other websites, but my searches are coming back with 'server cannot be located' or something like that. Fruitless.....it was really bad Tuesday, got better on Wednesday and my first search on Yahoo today is 'server cannot be located.' What's a novice to do?!

[LibKill]

A couple of years ago a woman at work got an attachment which started out "annakournikova.jpg" and ended in ".exe".

She clicked on it and it immediately infected her computer, and sent emails to everyone on her mailing list, which included everyone at work, a few thousand people.

She kind of "outed" herself. :)