Genealogy Chat

Have just read Daily Mirror,s news on teletex.SOBIG VIRUS is rampant,attacking computers world wide,blocking Internet,and can wipe out emailing.(I am not sure what to do about it,except checking Norton Antivirus) Margaret.

It only infects your PC, if you open the attachment from the mail. So if you get an email with an attachment which you are not expecting then delete it. It is using sending address's such as [email protected], and subject lines such as RE : your details

I've had about 12 emails come through with this virus attached, I just deleted them immediately. They say in subject- your details or your application. George

since monday we have had over 50 of the blighters - but delete delete delete. and have nortons running too usually the attachment is a pif or scr file

if you go to the web site for sophos they have a patch for it sandra

Margaret if at all concerned go to Symantec web site and you will find a sobig removal tool to download. Gets rid of all those silly e-mails, as it is an event triggered worm.It easy to remove.

Hi everyone I'm afraid all this virus stuff is over my head! Can anyone tell me do I download this patch before or after I've got the virus?! Jeanette

Em! its a bit over my head too, Ive been told that the Virus can't effect Millenium Edition...does anyone know if thats right? Also what Pc symptoms do u get, in otherwords, how do u know if your pc has picked up the worm? All that I have been told is that you have problems connecting to the internet, I keep virus checking my pc, but I aint really too sure what Im doing.... thank you Sarah

Nor me - how do you do a virus check?? I spent 3 hours last night putting in an update from microsoft as I've had the p.c since January and didnt know you had to do this sort of thing. I know, I probably should have known better, but nowhere in the operating instructions for the p.c did it say it was necessary, so ignorance being bliss I ignored the 'update now' messages, consequently i've still got another 3 hours of updates to put in!! Sue.

Hi Sue, It depends what virus software you have, mine is AVG antivirus - the software you have should give you an option to run a test...this should then tell you wether it has detected any virus'...I have been led to believe that this isn't 100% reliable, but a good indicator! Its so true, when u get a pc nobody tells you all the maitenance stuff that you are supposed to do! well beter late than never for your downloads!!! Does anyone know about this doggy worm virus!?!?!?!

Try this a free check over the internet. Trendmicro-europe, then click on house call.You can download some software that allows you to scan your hardrive etc. It is up to date re sobig.

Hi all,another update site to try is http://help.bigfix.com Found this in Webuser mag. and it's supposed to be quicker than windows update it also finds any conflicts on your computer.

Hi As I understand it Windows 95 97 98 and windows ME are not supposed to be affected by this virus, the best thing is to delete all attachments unless you know the person sending it to you. Rosemary

I have Norton Antivirus and Firewall, and get live updates from them, usually once a week. Sometimes, I get several updates a week when there is a particular problem. I have Windows ME, but I was still live updated with the lates Sobig antivirus - think it is 'F'. I would advise everyone to take advantage of the live updates. They give you e-mail warnings too of any particular problems, and direct you to the Windows Live update site if there is a patch you should install. Good advice not to open the attachments of any e-mails you don't recognise. Janet

I have windows ME and Norton Antivirus. I did a live update on the 11/08 and when on the eve of 19/08 I received a few suspicious e-mails I did a full scan ,it was clear, I was still getting silly e-mails so did another live update, by this time it was midnight. I then did another full scan and received 1 new definition, 45mins later there it was, so obiviously Norton had only just updated the definitions. Cleared it easily, ran the removal tool thro and the Trendmicro housecall application ( mentioned above) just to make sure. I think it is the blaster worm that 98 and Me are immune so dont take any chances.

Since Monday I have received a multitude of mail with attachments all of which I scanned with Norton,all containing the Sobig virus.I of course deleted them but it was a headache.I even got up during the night as they were coming in thick and fast and filling up my free mail box space.The last one came Thursday evening but I am still on my guard.Some even were from Mailer Daemon which stated that it was mail returned unread that I had sent,which I had not.It has been a nightmare experience but a warning for the future. Good Luck to all.

There are currently two serious virus warnings in place. One is for the ms blaster worm, which uses a windows protocol to infect unpatched machines, and does not arrive as an email attachment. This virus does not affect windows 95 98 or ME. The other virus is a variant of the original sobig virus. This version is called w32.sobig.f@mm. If you would prefer to read about either of them go to symantec's homepage. By following the instructions and applying any necessary patches they are both easily contained. I hope this helps Phil