a hoax virus

[Robinb]

Several of you might have gotten an email similar to this one as you see
below, I just want to tell you it is a hoax.
I have received emails from several of my clients and after researching this
I found it is a hoax and wanted to pass it on
You should never open a greetings email from anyone that is not legit,
legit is hallmark.com, bluemountain.com and they should always look at who
sends it first before opening it.

http://virusbusters.itcs.umich.edu//hoaxes/virtual.html
http://us.mcafee.com/virusInfo/default.asp?id=description&virus_k=98893

Hoax email is below my signature


robin




PLEASE

SEND THIS TO EVERYONE ON YOUR CONTACT LIST!!

A new virus has just been discovered that has been classified by
Microsoft as the most destructive ever. This virus was discovered yesterday
afternoon by McAfee . This virus simply destroys Sector Zero from the hard
disk, where vital information for its functioning are stored. This virus
acts in the following manner:
It sends itself automatically to all contacts on your list with the
title:
"You've received a Post Card from a Family member or Friend".

As soon as the supposed virtual card is opened the computer freezes so
that the user has to reboot. When the ctrl+alt+ del keys or the reset button
are pressed, the virus destroys Sector Zero, thus permanently destroying the
hard disk. Yesterday in just a few hours this virus caused panic in New York
, according to news broadcast by CNN.

This alert was received by an employee of Microsoft itself.
So don't open any mails with subject: "A Post Card from ." As soon as
you get the mail, delete it !! Even if you know the sender !!!

Please pass this mail to all of your friends.

Forward this to everyone in your address book. I'm sure most people,
like myself, I would rather receive this notice 25 times than not at All.






--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Guest]

Robin, I swear, over the last month I get at least 4 spam e-mails a day that
say...You recieved a card from a classmate, friend, lover etc. etc. They
usually show up in my bulk folder so they just get dumped.

Like anything I don't recognize from someone I know, I will NOT open it.
Must be nice to have so much time on your hands to create viruses for people
who just want to surf the web, or chat and check e-mails. Darn slimballs!!!
:-(

 

[Anonymous Bob]

Several of you might have gotten an email similar to this one as you see
below, I just want to tell you it is a hoax.
I have received emails from several of my clients and after researching this
I found it is a hoax and wanted to pass it on
You should never open a greetings email from anyone that is not legit,
legit is hallmark.com, bluemountain.com and they should always look at who
sends it first before opening it.

http://www.sophos.com/security/hoaxes/virtualcard.html

Bob Vanderveen

 

[Guest]

Here is some reading about the Storm Worm which looks like a big problem
with phony (emails from friendly sources) and click on the links : read more
about Storm Worm. The word is that this malicious code is morphing itself
every 30 minutes or so making it very hard for AV scanners to detect
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2176207,00.asp

 

[Pat Willener]

That was indeed a hoax when it first started to circulate seven years
ago. However, these kinds of infected "greeting cards" have become a
reality in the past few weeks, and whoever followed the invitation to
view the "greeting card" (or fake YouTube link) had his/her computer
added to the powerful spam-distributing botnet.

Still, sending hoaxes like this around is stupid. Having up-to-date
antivirus and anti-spyware installed is the way to go.

 

[Bill Sanderson MVP]

This one changes, and quickly. The current iteration invites folks to be
part of a beta test, with inducements.

We need to train ourselves and the users we come in contact with, that going
to a URL based on an anonymous message (or even one purporting to come from
someone we know, but with no personal content) is risky behavior.

A beta test probably isn't as good an inducement as dancing pigs, but for
some people, it'll be just right, and the botnet sending these things will
grow.

For my users, the ones from the IRS have raised the most actual
questions--"Is this real?" said in a hopeful tone....

--

 

[Robinb]

it sure is stupid because then everyone panicks and thinks they can get a
virus
that is basically why i put it in here so if anyone gets this stupid email
they will know what it is
robin

 

[Guest]

RobinB:

Can I assume you are a Microsoft professional in this area? If so have
there been any new additions to this subject? I just received the exact same
message and need to know if I should respond?

Thanks

 

[Bill Sanderson]

By and large, you won't see many responses from Microsoft professionals in
these groups. We are mostly experienced fellow users with various
experience levels.

My own recommendation would be to delete this message and not give it a
second thought.

There is additional descriptive material, and advice, at the links Robin
posted--worth looking at if you have any doubts.

--

 

[Guest]

about RobinB:

Can I assume you are a Microsoft professional in this area? If so have
there been any new additions to this subject? I just received the exact same
message and need to know if I should respond?

Thanks

No he is my cleaner looking after my toilets and from time to time I give
him the permission to use my computer so that he can educate himself.

If you have any specific questions about viruses then I suggest look for
dedicated newsgroups. Also, it is a good idea to go to your anti-virus
provider's website for any information they might have.

If I were you, I would not rely on anything you read here from anyone
calling himself RobinB, Randy Bonkers aka, Randy Kno***, Engle, or even Tim
Clark. Their knowledge is limited to specialists website for porn and all
that.

Hope this proves useful.

 

[Robinb]

about RobinB:


No he is my cleaner looking after my toilets and from time to time I give
him the permission to use my computer so that he can educate himself.

I am not a he- I am a she- and you really need to get a life here.
and nothing you type here is useful, and to add, I have been in the
technical industry for 15yrs and I am betting I know a heck of alot more
than you will ever know.
Again- crawl back into your hole and cover it up.
robin

 

[Robinb]

as Bill has said, you should delete the message and if you read the link it
will show you more about the hoax.
I do not work for Microsoft but I do work with Microsoft from time to time,
by giving seminars on Vista and security to computer usergroups that
Microsoft has recommended me for. I also beta test software for Microsoft
and for other software companies and i hang in a lot of "techy" usergroups
as well as newsgroups and online forums where other highly techincal people
are and share important information that we all can use. I believe I am a
professional in my field but I am always learning new things especially from
the good folks who are in this newsgroup, like Engel, Bill, Tim, Randy,
Annoynomous, Dave M, Alan, Aland and anyone else i might have missed.

robin

 

[Anonymous Bob]

Annoynomous, Dave M, Alan, Aland and anyone else i might have missed.

You're having a hard time with names lately.<g>

Annoy...???

That's *Anonymous* Bob.

Have a good night. I think you need more sleep. We'll blame it on the time
change. ;-)

Bob Vanderveen

 

[Robinb]

lol -sue me so I cannot spell or too lazy to use the spell checker in OE
but I at least meant well
robin

 

[Piet]

Apparently, the ones that say VIRTUAL card are not really viruses, but the
ones pretending to be from a family member or other known quantity are really
viruses. THIS ONE is a fake, but who cares? Just go to the actual homepage
of the real card company, and search for your card on their actual site, if
it is a real card.

Read the address on the bottom of your browser when you mouse over the link,
too.

Most of the email warnings that say "A real live Microsoft employee my tenth
cousin had sex with in 3rd grade got this in his secret Swiss Email account"
are made up - why would a Microsoft employee get this? Why would he not give
his name? Why would SNOPES say that some fake warnings are using the site of
a real virus warning, and print at the bottom that this is a co-opt of a real
warning?

Awel, you dupes. Stop panicking and sending crap into the ether.