OT: I get viruses every day in e-mail. What do I do?

[Guest]

HiI appologise for putting an off-topic post but I have no idea who to ask about this and I know that there are a lot of clever guys/gals around here.For the past few weeks I have been receiving between 1 and 2 viruses daily in the e-mail. It's a different address every time and different contents of the e-mail. Some e-mails say nothing, it's just an attachment that tries to save itself on hte HDD. Lucky for me I have Norton Anti-virus which has caught all of them. The virus is always starting with W32**** with different things after that like names or just latters, numbers etc, but they always start with W32.My e-mail is not one of those free accounts like Yahoo, it's from an ISP. My question is: What do I do to STOP this? It's different addresses so I cannot block. I would really appreciate any advice on this because I am scared one will get through.Take careMike

[Guest wkzzo]

1)never open attachments(most important)2)If you use outlook express do not have the mail preview pane set to open when the program runs.3)Use a good up to date anti virus software.4)Use a firewall. I use zone alarm pro, it has a feature called mailsafe that keeps any email executables from running. Probably the biggest thing is the e-mail attachments ,this is where the largest majority of viruses infect computers from. If your suspect of an attachment you can usually right click on it and view the source code within the message. if it contains an .exe .scr ect.... any king of executable it could be a virus. In 6 years I have not had a computer virus on my 4 computers practicing these few simple things. Although I have freinds that get viruses by the week, they just dont listen.

[Guest]

ThanksI have always followed those 4 rules. I have Norton AV 2000 and I update it daily. I use Zone Alarm as well. The problem for me is that I receive 2 viruses a day in the amil. Norton detects them and I delete them but how do I stop this receiving 2 a day problem. Is someone trying rally hard to get one on my computer or is 2 a day normal?Take careMike

[Guest EGLD]

Hi !2 a day is not unusual, some corporations receive thousands a day, all should be stopped at the mail server if they're running the latest virus definitions.Unfortunately, theres not a lot you can do to stop people sending the emails. You can reply to them, but with this new virus, the person who the email appears to be from, may not necessarily be the sender. To find out who is (if you have received the Klez virus) double click the email (once you're happy NAV has removed the attachment !!!) and go to VIEW > OPTIONSYou can, if you use MS Outlook (not express) set up rules to delete mail automatically. Do some research on Rules on how to use keywords, or whatever else the viruses you are receiving have in common. If one person is responsible for lots of the viruses, go to organise, junk email and turn it on (or something) and make sure its set up to delete junk mails, then right click the email with the virus and select add to junk senders list. All subsequent emails from them will be deletedSorry if this is a little rushed, but I need to dash out, I hope theres enough info there to get you started !! Please reply if you think I can help some more*EDIT* I should have said, although it goes without saying nowadays, that you MUST be running a capable Antivirus package (and you are in Norton), and it is essential that you either manually update the softwares virus definitions or configure it to autmatically do this very oftenAlso, it helps to NOT use the Preview pane in MS Outlook as this has in effect allowed emails to execute their harmful attachments without you opening them.

[Guest]

>Hi ! >>2 a day is not unusual, some corporations receive thousands >a day, all should be stopped at the mail server if they're >running the latest virus definitions. >Well, I've been using outlook for years. But this is a new one on me.How do you not use the preview pane? I see not setting under options to turn this off. Incidently, the only items that ever appear in it are text, HTML and jpegs. No executable will "autostart" just by previewing it that I am aware of. Infact, I have yet to even have any virus activate itself just by opening an email or previewing one. The only way is to activate the virus by clicking on it to get it started that I am aware of.Pete

[Guest]

I also had this W32 thingy in my mail, it's just a massmailer going around at the moment (Norton had a special warning about it on its site some days ago).But following the rules already mentioned here, this virus is no harm at all, especially as Norton always catches it.Additionally, I always immediately delete any files having an attachment where Ia) don't know the sender:( don't trust the sender very much and have no clue what sense the attachment might have.If it was something important, bad luck for the sender.=)Never got a virus on my computer that way.Regards,Robert

[Guest]

>>Well, I've been using outlook for years. But this is a new >one on me. >How do you not use the preview pane? I see not setting under >options to turn this off. Incidently, the only items that >ever appear in it are text, HTML and jpegs. No executable >will "autostart" just by previewing it that I am aware of. >Infact, I have yet to even have any virus activate itself >just by opening an email or previewing one. The only way is >to activate the virus by clicking on it to get it started >that I am aware of. >Pete If an email has html, it may have a script containing a virus - and that virus executes itself just by viewing the mail.To turn the preview off (I strongly recommend that), go to 'view', 'layout'. There you find it.Regards,Robert

[Guest]

well, if it's a pay account, it should be easy enough to change your address.

[Guest]

Yeah, I finaly did that. Today I received 4 viruses. All caught thanks to Norton :-hahNow how do I notify AVSIM about my new mail, anyone know?Take careMike

[Guest Allan Jones]

In addition to the address change, you might tell this story to your ISP. They may wish to hear about it.I stopped getting spammed when I dropped that outfit..well, let's just say they advertise their service heavily on TV ("New version 7.0!")...and went to a local ISP, then cable. Most of those viruses don't affect Macs, but some with Visual Basic code can be truly cross-platform if we're running MS Office. Nasty!Is the subject line filled in on those message?You can try changing your e-mail in your profile, but you may have to re-register. If the later occurs, we'll get your star rating back to its current status in a few days!

[Toys_R_Us 0]

From PCWorld.comYou can avoid contracting the virus through your preview window by disabling the Preview Pane function, but the worm will still infect your PC if you open the message. (To turn off the preview pane, Outlook users need to select View and click Preview Pane; Outlook Express users must choose View, Layout, and uncheck " Show Preview PaneBob (Lecanto, Fl)AMD, Athlon XP, 1800+MSI, K7T266 XP ProPC 2100 DDR, 1024 MBXP, Home Edition Elsa GLadiac 920, GF3/64Mb andPNY, Verto nVidia TNT 2-M64/32WD, 100 MB, 7200, Ultra 100Sound Blaster, Audigy MP3+CH Prod, VPP Yoke - Sound CardCH Prod, Pedals - Sound Card

[Guest]

I sent an e-mail to Scott Brazell to change my e-mail in the profile because as far as I know I cannot do it myself, right?At least I got rid of the viruses. I receiver 6 today on my old mail :-rollAnyway, I appreciate the adviceTake careMike

[Guest]

Please DO NOT re-register just to change your email. We need to change your email for you but all you need to do is email forum@avsim.com with your username and new address and we can take care of that.

[Guest]

Thanks Mr BrazellI will do that now. I did not re-register.Take careMike

[Guest drobson]

The most recent one to arrive in my mail box is called WORM_KLEZ. My a/v program, PC-Cillin2000 caught it. This one does not need to have an attachment with it, will most likely come from someone you don't know, and will automatically open. It will change some of the executable files on other programs, rendering them useless. I worked for about 12 hours on a friends machine that was infected with it. It even screwed up his anti-virus .exe file, (his file definitions were not up to date), to the point that I had to un-install his a/v program. I then had to re-install it, update the file definitions, and then do another scan. I finally was able to get his system cleaned and running again, but it was a lot of hassle!For some reason, I've not been bothered by it for about three days, but had been getting hit several times a day.Darrell

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