Genealogy Chat

Hi All.... I have just recieved an email From a b fowel at ntlworld ( a bogus name I think ) With visable data, plus an attatchment which I diddn't open. I tried to forward the email to tesco net support along with a message not to open the attatchment.----------- An error message came up stating that I never had enough memory to send the email.---------- I deleted the email immediatly.----- -----------I ran my AGV antivirus but it did not find any viruses. ------ Please be carefull & don't open any emails with attatchments, which look suspicious.----- Elaine x ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// UPDATE................................................. The email I was sent was almost certainly the new MY DOOM virus........................................................................ Please don't rely on your antivirus picking this one up.------mine diddn't !!!

It said something about mail notification in the title. Ekaine x

My norton anti virus pick up two tonight, only checked them this morning.

This is a new worm which was discovered yesterday. It can start with Hi, hi, Hello, hello,Error, Mail delivery system, Mail transaction failed, Server report, Status. Lots of other things. I think the Virus protectors such as Symantic are onto it now but be aware and do not open an attachment with an email from someone you don't recognise. ann Glos

I had this virus sent yesterday, but it was quarantined on my system by Norton. W32.Novarg.A@mm W32/Mydoom@MM [McAfee], WORM_MIMAIL.R [Trend] January 26,

It's Called the MY DOOM Virus Check out http://www(.)sky(.)com/skynews/article/0,,30000-12980847,00.html NEVER open something, when you're unaware of it's origin! Sioux

I warned all my friends yesterday about it, & got a message back from one of them that he had just recieved a simular email & has deleted it.....Thank goodness !!!! I wonder why AVG did not pick it up. Im up to date with my updates. Unless its such a new virus, that they havent a chance to deal with & recognise it. Elaine x

I have had about 7 in the last 24 hours. They usually say Hi or Hello and say they are returning mail to you. Norton picked them up. There is an article in todays Daily Maill about it. Regards Helena

Up until today I have never had any strange emails. Today I had 2. One was from hepldesk@virginholidays (I've never been on a Virgin holidays website) saying that they had detected a virus. It also had an attachment. The other one had an email address with loads of random letters and numbers and also had an attachment. After reading the threads on these boards I decided to delete them straight away without opening the attachments. I'm rather dim when it comes to computers, internet and emails so can somebody tell me (a) do you think these attachments contained viruses, and (b) why would I suddenly start getting dodgy emails? Could somebody else have passed the virus on? Jeanette

COPIED FROM SKY NEWS WEBSITE A new computer virus which is capable of accessing credit card details is spreading quickly across the Internet. The MyDoom "worm" has circulated so fast via email that anti-virus firms have raised threat warnings to "high". If loaded, the virus allows a hacker to break in and record everything being typed on the user's computer, including passwords and credit card numbers. Security experts warn that the "sneaky" new virus is tricking people into thinking it is a legitimate email. The worm is contained in emails with random senders' addresses and subject lines. It masks itself as an innocuous text document or a file that the user's computer appears unable to read. "This one is almost begging you to click on the attachment," Symantec representative Sharon Ruckman said. While the body of the email varies, it usually includes what appears to be an error message, such as: "The message cannot be represented in 7-bit ASCII encoding and has been sent as a binary attachment." When loaded, some versions of the worm launch Notepad and show random characters. At the same time it replicates itself and installs a "keystroke" program that allows a hacker to access the computer. MyDoom is already on track to hit even more machines than Nimda, a 2001 worm that spread widely with an attachment that read "Readme.exe." SIOUX

Sioux Mine was an error thingy with a 7 bit wotsit! Good job I deleted it then. Jeanette

Sioux It sounds like the email I had. Im so glad I deleted it. IT could have been worse, I could have been mislead that the e mail was safe as my AVG free editon did not pick it up. Remember take nothing for granted, even if you have an antivirus if you dont feel happy about a strange email & attatchment DELETE IT ! Elaine x

I had an email today from Mailer Demon, failure to send. I looked at it, lots of gobledygook and saying it was a failure to someone I have never heard off. No attachment though, I deleted it and after reading this have just updated my antivirus. I ran a complete check after I deleted the e mail and no virus was detected so maybe AOL somehow took it before it got to me?? A bit strange altogether.

Hi, I have had another one of those e-mails purporting to come from Microsoft telling me to download patch which is attached, immediately. Needless to say it had been sent to my spam folder, but just in case someone gets it through 'normal' mail box. DO NOT open it. I contains a virus. Margaret

Can I ask a question to everyone? Why, at this present moment in time with all these viruses, isn't everyone scheduling their anit-virus to do a live up-date daily? It doesn't cost anything and it will just work in the background when you are on line. I lost my whole computer 6 months back, I had nearly 3 years of my family tree LOST! due to ignorance. It takes about 3 minutes to schedule your anti-virus, please do it for your own sake, as well as everyone else in your address book.

Kim....I think many actually do have their anti-viruses set to automatically update. The problem is the rate at which new viruses are being created and sent out. Anti-Virus software manufacturers can only come up with a solution after the fact....often too, late since the virus is spreading while they are searching for a solution. You might also want to check the thread I posted yesterday NORTON ANTI-VIRUS-GLITCH? It seems that available virus definitions are not being picked up by their live update option on our computers. You have to actually go to the Symantec site for some of the latest updates. I wasn't aware of this glitch until I kept receiving a pop-up from Norton advising me that I needed to update. When I ran Live Update (which was set to do automatically!) I kept getting the message that I had all available updates. When I mentioned it to my tech he told me to go directly to the Norton site....low and behold, there were updates available that my Live Update couldn't or wouldn't get. I went back to the site again a week later even thought I was no longer getting the pop up message and again, there was another update needed. To boot, you not only have to download the latest defintions but install it, too! Judy

Judy, I really appreciate your comments and I heed them, but... I suppose I am more cautious than some, due to losing everthing twice!! but that has been due to ignorance, and not updating sooner! Even though I try to convince friends and rellies, the amount of people that only update their anti virus once a month or every 2 weeks, because that's all they feel they need to do! In the last year my address book has doubled, and that is mainly new contacts on GC. So shouldn't we all be a bit more responsible? I am no computer boff, far from it really, but, there has been so much advice on here, and on the net, that, in my opinion, we should all make ourselves aware of things that are going on when using computers. They are brilliant things, and keep us in touch with friends and the world, but they can also be a responsibility. Kim

Hi if you see the Records Board and read what Max of London has printed, it will help, you can also download the virus checker for it .should you get it. Joan

At the moment I am scanning on a daily basis and doing all the other things one should - defragging, emptying cookies etc. I was trying to bring this to others attention in case they thought it was OK because it was headed from Microsoft. My security AVG is on on a permament basis and gets updated every week. I suppose it is a case of being extra vigilant at the moment. Margaret

Hi again, As mentioned before, when I got the offending email, I scanned my whole computer useing AVG free edition. I am up to date with my updates & still Avg did not detect this new virus. If you get ANY email whose source you dont recognise, which contain an attatchment then the safest thing is just to DELETE. Elaine x