Question:
I just found a file on my temporary net files lables happy2 which when I looked for it showed a smiley face, seemingly made of plasticine. Was that the virus referrred to here? I deleted it unopened, so I hope it wasn’t a free years supply of amazing porn, but like crabs, I could have got it anywhere. I don’t mind those of you with more experience than me causing unnecessary panic – rather that than a dead computer. If you know what you are talking I about, I appreciate such warnings, even if it turns out to be a false alarm. - cheers – Larry, I love your choice of pix each day! LRH – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->In article <mroederNoSpam-1502991854420…@dynamic53.pm05.sf3d.best.com>, mroederNoS…@bestNoSpam.com (Timberwoof) wrote: >> In article <7aa7qk$3n…@news.vic.com>, "Rugger Bugger" <a…@lineone.net> wrote: >> > On Thursday last week someone sent me an e-mail which contained a virus. >> Good luck getting your computer unhosed… try Norton Utilities. 
>> — >> Timberwoof: Hockey goalie; BMW R1100 GS rider; nice guy. >> mroeder at best dot com; http://www.best.com/~mroeder >> You may have the right to say that, but I will defend >> to the death my right to disagree with you.
Response:
Hello; I hope someone can help me with the following question. I have been using an old computer and it uses windows 3.1. I have been checking for viruses using the installed software, but know it is hopelessly out of date. Any suggestions on how to download updates for the Microsoft virus scan from the internet? Thanks.
Response:
Update Thanks for the e-mails with suggestions to download virus scans. I have done so, but unfortunately have not been able to open the files. In file manager (windows 3.1) I click on the file, but it says no association. Help please? Sorry, I only have used windows 95 and 98. Thanks again!
Response:
Timberwoof <mroederNoS…@bestNoSpam.com> wrote in article <mroederNoSpam-1502991854420…@dynamic53.pm05.sf3d.best.com>… > In article <7aa7qk$3n…@news.vic.com>, "Rugger Bugger" <a…@lineone.net> wrote: > > On Thursday last week someone sent me an e-mail which contained a
virus. <snip> > Second, get a Mac. While tens of thousands of viruses > have been written for Windows, only a few hundred exist for the Mac. A Mac > is immune to PC viruses.
Or try Linux! It’s better than either Windows or Mac, much more stable, free, and there are only 3 known viruses for it, which are extremely rare. Above all, do *not* retransmit dire virus warnings. Most of them are bogus > and just make people worry unnecessarily.
AMEN! > Good luck getting your computer unhosed… try Norton Utilities.
or F-Prot. download from http://www.datafellows.com the DOS version is free and works great with win95/98 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> — > Timberwoof: Hockey goalie; BMW R1100 GS rider; nice guy. > mroeder at best dot com; http://www.best.com/~mroeder > You may have the right to say that, but I will defend > to the death my right to disagree with you.
Response:
I received the Happy99.exe virus yesterday from someone I was doing business with on eBay. Fortunately, it had not effect as I have little old WebTV. It came as a separate e-mail.
Response:
I too was sent the "Happy" worm, and it really messed up my internet files. a guy in one of the newsgroups gave a web address to goto to read more about it..after going to the site the page loaded half way and my modem started going crayz turning on and off several times, i was disconnected from AOL.. After this i was unable to sign back on for about 10 minutes, after finally getting back on i was not able to sign on to any internet website. since i was not able to read the entire article about the worm i didn’t know what to do about it and ended up reformatting my hard drive as a virus scan did nothing.
Response:
It would be nice if everybody took as much care to avoid "personal" viruses as they do to avoid computer viruses. It simply amazes me how many people truly believe that the "threat" is over. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -scorpio wrote: > In article <mroederNoSpam-1502991854420…@dynamic53.pm05.sf3d.best.com>, > mroederNoS…@bestNoSpam.com says… > > In article <7aa7qk$3n…@news.vic.com>, "Rugger Bugger" <a…@lineone.net> wrote: > > > On Thursday last week someone sent me an e-mail which contained a virus. > > > Unknown to me, this virus infiltrated my newsgroup posting software. I > > > posted some pictures on Friday and apparently some of them hit > > > alt.support.jockstrap before my newsgroup software crashed. It was only then > > > that I realised that I had received a virus. I am posting this from another > > > computer entirely. I was unable to read newsgroups to see if any of the > > > posts got through. However I know of at least one person who read one of the > > > posts and their PC was infected. > > > Sincere and humble apologies to them and anyone who opened any attachments > > > to my posts on Friday February 12th. Extensive steps have now been taken to > > > make sure that this does not happen again. > > Just what sort of virus is it that can get transmitted with an email or a > > newsgroup post? Unless the computer loads the data as executable code and > > then tries to execute it, there’s no way that mere data can "infect" a > > computer. What that means is that only code that has the right file type > > can get loaded and executed, and then *you* have to make your computer do > > that. Email and news do not do that. > This is true as long as the message is pure text. However, now that email > is beginning to use HTML it is possible to write and execute malicious > code as "email" although VERY rare. If you use Outlook express there is a > SERIOUS security hole and you should get the update. Here’s a great site > to download the files without going through that freakin windows update > site. > http://www.walbeehm.com/win98upd.html > Related article > http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/warn/emailflaw.html > <snip> > > If you’re worried about viruses, there are two things you can do: First, > > get informed. Learn how the things really work, and how they are and are > > not transmitted. Second, get a Mac. > HAHAHAHA…now there’s a practical solution! Sure, all of us PC owners > are going to dump our machines and software and enter the limited Mac > software arena to avoid viruses. Fifty bucks for an antivirus program is > a bit more cost effective. I think protection, education, and caution are > better solutions here. > Here’s a good article for that > http://www2.pcworld.com/current_issue/article/0,1212,9134,00.html > > While tens of thousands of viruses > > have been written for Windows, only a few hundred exist for the Mac. A Mac > > is immune to PC viruses. > DUH! Of course a Mac is immune to PC viruses! Almost all viruses are OS > specific. One exception is the Microsoft Word Macro Virus which infects > the document instead of the program. > > Above all, do *not* retransmit dire virus warnings. Most of them are bogus > > and just make people worry unnecessarily. > True. > > Good luck getting your computer unhosed… try Norton Utilities. > Norton makes what I think is the best antivirus product right now and I > would rate McAfee a very close second. > — > ========================= > remove the stain to reply
Response:
In article <mroederNoSpam-1502991854420…@dynamic53.pm05.sf3d.best.com>, mroederNoS…@bestNoSpam.com says… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> In article <7aa7qk$3n…@news.vic.com>, "Rugger Bugger" <a…@lineone.net> wrote: > > On Thursday last week someone sent me an e-mail which contained a virus. > > Unknown to me, this virus infiltrated my newsgroup posting software. I > > posted some pictures on Friday and apparently some of them hit > > alt.support.jockstrap before my newsgroup software crashed. It was only then > > that I realised that I had received a virus. I am posting this from another > > computer entirely. I was unable to read newsgroups to see if any of the > > posts got through. However I know of at least one person who read one of the > > posts and their PC was infected. > > Sincere and humble apologies to them and anyone who opened any attachments > > to my posts on Friday February 12th. Extensive steps have now been taken to > > make sure that this does not happen again. > Just what sort of virus is it that can get transmitted with an email or a > newsgroup post? Unless the computer loads the data as executable code and > then tries to execute it, there’s no way that mere data can "infect" a > computer. What that means is that only code that has the right file type > can get loaded and executed, and then *you* have to make your computer do > that. Email and news do not do that.
This is true as long as the message is pure text. However, now that email is beginning to use HTML it is possible to write and execute malicious code as "email" although VERY rare. If you use Outlook express there is a SERIOUS security hole and you should get the update. Here’s a great site to download the files without going through that freakin windows update site. http://www.walbeehm.com/win98upd.html Related article http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/warn/emailflaw.html <snip> > If you’re worried about viruses, there are two things you can do: First, > get informed. Learn how the things really work, and how they are and are > not transmitted. Second, get a Mac.
HAHAHAHA…now there’s a practical solution! Sure, all of us PC owners are going to dump our machines and software and enter the limited Mac software arena to avoid viruses. Fifty bucks for an antivirus program is a bit more cost effective. I think protection, education, and caution are better solutions here. Here’s a good article for that http://www2.pcworld.com/current_issue/article/0,1212,9134,00.html > While tens of thousands of viruses > have been written for Windows, only a few hundred exist for the Mac. A Mac > is immune to PC viruses.
DUH! Of course a Mac is immune to PC viruses! Almost all viruses are OS specific. One exception is the Microsoft Word Macro Virus which infects the document instead of the program. > Above all, do *not* retransmit dire virus warnings. Most of them are bogus > and just make people worry unnecessarily.
True. > Good luck getting your computer unhosed… try Norton Utilities.
Norton makes what I think is the best antivirus product right now and I would rate McAfee a very close second. — ========================= remove the stain to reply
Response:
I felt like I had to reply to this post because of what happened to me this past fall. I had just purchased a new Mac G3 and was cruising…couldn’t believe how fast the computer was. All was fine for a month until I fell into the trap of thinking you are safe and that computer harm can not be transmitted via text. I downloaded a text story from a popular web site (remains unmentioned). When I tried to open the folder that contained the text the folder would not open and my computer crashed. My antivirus software (Norton) detected the file, identified it, and then could do nothing with it…just churned and churned trying to figure out what to do…finally Norton would crash after it scanned the file for up to 15 minutes or more. It seemed invincible. I went through two days with all of my friends who work with computers trying to figure out how to get rid of the file. When we were finally able to move the file, it would cause even more problems. When I moved it to the trash, it duplicated itself and infected three other folders which then would not open without my computer completely crashing. Each of the folders had the file with the same name except that each time it duplicated itself, the file would add more numbers and dashes behind its name. When it came down to it, there was no choice but to reinitialize my hard drive. And the experts warned that it may still be there…but it was my last hope. Luckily it worked, but I was never able to save the folders that had been affected by this story. The experts warned that it was not safe to use any of the information…that it had to be sacrificed. I waned the site’s manager of the problem I had and he got indignant and said I was crazy..that a text file could not carry a virus. None of us will ever know what happened with this file…virus?…who knows? But one thing’s for sure, don’t get lulled into complacency when downloading text. I turned off Norton to save time in downloads. I won’t do that again. I used to be one who got upset when people warned about viruses because of all I knew about computers from friends. I hope I don’t make that mistake again. Just food for thought. Tom (BiJock) In article <mroederNoSpam-1502991854420…@dynamic53.pm05.sf3d.best.com>, mroederNoS…@bestNoSpam.com (Timberwoof) wrote: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> In article <7aa7qk$3n…@news.vic.com>, "Rugger Bugger" <a…@lineone.net> wrote: > > On Thursday last week someone sent me an e-mail which contained a virus. > > Unknown to me, this virus infiltrated my newsgroup posting software. I > > posted some pictures on Friday and apparently some of them hit > > alt.support.jockstrap before my newsgroup software crashed. It was only then > > that I realised that I had received a virus. I am posting this from another > > computer entirely. I was unable to read newsgroups to see if any of the > > posts got through. However I know of at least one person who read one of the > > posts and their PC was infected. > > Sincere and humble apologies to them and anyone who opened any attachments > > to my posts on Friday February 12th. Extensive steps have now been taken to > > make sure that this does not happen again. > Just what sort of virus is it that can get transmitted with an email or a > newsgroup post? Unless the computer loads the data as executable code and > then tries to execute it, there’s no way that mere data can "infect" a > computer. What that means is that only code that has the right file type > can get loaded and executed, and then *you* have to make your computer do > that. Email and news do not do that. > How did you verify that it was a virus? What kind was it? How did other > person verify that it was actually a virus? Plenty of problems can crop up > with computers, and it’s all to easy to say it was a virus and not just > run-of-the-mill filesystem corruption. > If you’re worried about viruses, there are two things you can do: First, > get informed. Learn how the things really work, and how they are and are > not transmitted. Second, get a Mac. While tens of thousands of viruses > have been written for Windows, only a few hundred exist for the Mac. A Mac > is immune to PC viruses. > Above all, do *not* retransmit dire virus warnings. Most of them are bogus > and just make people worry unnecessarily. > Good luck getting your computer unhosed… try Norton Utilities. > — > Timberwoof: Hockey goalie; BMW R1100 GS rider; nice guy. > mroeder at best dot com; http://www.best.com/~mroeder > You may have the right to say that, but I will defend > to the death my right to disagree with you.
Response:
In article <7aa7qk$3n…@news.vic.com>, "Rugger Bugger" <a…@lineone.net> wrote: > On Thursday last week someone sent me an e-mail which contained a virus. > Unknown to me, this virus infiltrated my newsgroup posting software. I > posted some pictures on Friday and apparently some of them hit > alt.support.jockstrap before my newsgroup software crashed. It was only then > that I realised that I had received a virus. I am posting this from another > computer entirely. I was unable to read newsgroups to see if any of the > posts got through. However I know of at least one person who read one of the > posts and their PC was infected. > Sincere and humble apologies to them and anyone who opened any attachments > to my posts on Friday February 12th. Extensive steps have now been taken to > make sure that this does not happen again.
Just what sort of virus is it that can get transmitted with an email or a newsgroup post? Unless the computer loads the data as executable code and then tries to execute it, there’s no way that mere data can "infect" a computer. What that means is that only code that has the right file type can get loaded and executed, and then *you* have to make your computer do that. Email and news do not do that. How did you verify that it was a virus? What kind was it? How did other person verify that it was actually a virus? Plenty of problems can crop up with computers, and it’s all to easy to say it was a virus and not just run-of-the-mill filesystem corruption. If you’re worried about viruses, there are two things you can do: First, get informed. Learn how the things really work, and how they are and are not transmitted. Second, get a Mac. While tens of thousands of viruses have been written for Windows, only a few hundred exist for the Mac. A Mac is immune to PC viruses. Above all, do *not* retransmit dire virus warnings. Most of them are bogus and just make people worry unnecessarily. Good luck getting your computer unhosed… try Norton Utilities. — Timberwoof: Hockey goalie; BMW R1100 GS rider; nice guy. mroeder at best dot com; http://www.best.com/~mroeder You may have the right to say that, but I will defend to the death my right to disagree with you.
Response:
On Thursday last week someone sent me an e-mail which contained a virus. Unknown to me, this virus infiltrated my newsgroup posting software. I posted some pictures on Friday and apparently some of them hit alt.support.jockstrap before my newsgroup software crashed. It was only then that I realised that I had received a virus. I am posting this from another computer entirely. I was unable to read newsgroups to see if any of the posts got through. However I know of at least one person who read one of the posts and their PC was infected. Sincere and humble apologies to them and anyone who opened any attachments to my posts on Friday February 12th. Extensive steps have now been taken to make sure that this does not happen again. Yours. Rugger Bugger
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