I can speak only for myself when I say that the folks who create virii
are to me just as dangerous as those folks halfway around the world as
they terrorize humanity. While computer virii do not kill or maim
individuals they do cause untold trouble, wasted time and money that
could be used elsewhere.
That said, the quote below is from the April 24, 2002 Rootsweb Review -
No,
RootsWeb.com is not sending
you a virus or worm in an attachment -- no matter what these "forged"
addresses with RootsWeb name in it say. Be sure your anti-virus software
is up-to-date and that you use it. Never open any e-mail attachments
unless you have confirmed with the sender that she or he did indeed send
it to you for a reason. Do not assume that the attachment came from
where it says -- these sophisticated worms are able to forge addresses
and they are fooling lots of people. Some even claim to be "worm removal
tools." Don't believe them.
The Klez worm has been able to spread because of a security
vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer (browser) and because many
people do not update their browser and download these patches. Don't
risk the loss of your personal and genealogical data: Update your
browser now: [2-line URL]:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/critical/q290108/default.asp/
Most antivirus vendors, such as Symantec, McAfee and Sophos, offer Klez
patches. Is your computer virus free? Find out at:
http://housecall.antivirus.com/pc_housecall/
----------------
Additionally the following sites offer FREE virus checkers and/or software:
http://www.grisoft.com/html/us_index.htm
or
http://www.commandondemand.com/eval/index.cfm
or
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/activescan.asp?language=2&Cou...
&Partner=1&Ref=EN-PR-AS-107
--------
I rarely send attachments - and do not do so without prior notes to the
persons I do send attachments to. If you can pre-screen your email before
downloading it, do so. Just because an email appears to be from a friend -
if it shows an attachment check it out beforehand for most likely it is not
from your friend but has had their address forged.
The bad thing about the Klez virus is that it forges who it comes from in
ALL cases so that where it actually came from
is anyone's guess as the sender's email program, infected grabs an address
at random from the sender's address book slaps it on the outgoing mail and
sends it to whomever the sender has contact with either from their address
book and/or apparently anywhere in their email. This current virus is the
most devious one I've seen for lots of innocent folks are getting infected
as they open mail and/or attachments they thought was from someone they know.
There is even one particular sneaky mail this worm sends out that say that
it is Klez removal tools, tells folks to ignore any messages that say hold
on, don't run this - so that when they do ignore the safeguards in their
system they too will become yet another victim of this virus.
Having been zapped before by virii, and fighting it daily as part of my
job, I can think of no greater common threat we face. Please be careful
what you open and check your system often for virii.
Tim Stowell tstowell(a)chattanooga.net
Chattanooga, TN