virus warning

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Hi All,


I checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus!


I checked Snopes, and it is for real. Get this E-mail message sent around to your contacts ASAP.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS!



You should be alert during the next few days. Do not open any message with an attachment entitled 'POSTCARD FROM HALLMARK,'regardless of who sent it to you. It is a virus which opens A POSTCARD IMAGE, which 'burns' the whole hard disc C of your computer.


This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list. This is the reason why you need to send this e-mail to all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it.


If you receive a mail called' POSTCARD,' even though sent to you by a friend, do not open it! Shut down your computer immediately. This is the worst virus announced by CNN.


It has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept.


COPY THIS E-MAIL, AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS.


REMEMBER: IF YOU SEND IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US
 
Umm, Dave...to quote what Snopes has to say about this:

Although the Postcard virus is real, it isn't a "BIG VIRUS COMING" (it's already been around in multiple forms for a long time now), it will not "burn the whole hard disc" of your computer, CNN didn't classify it as the "worst virus" ever...
 
A general rule of mine is that it's always best to email the person (if you know them) to verify they sent you something and scan it for viruses before opening it anyway if they did.
 
If you live and die by your computer these days Vaughn a virus is a virus

I agree Dave, but the e-mail message offers incorrect "facts" and advice. Just one example:

If you receive a mail called' POSTCARD,' even though sent to you by a friend, do not open it! Shut down your computer immediately. This is the worst virus announced by CNN.

Shut down the computer, then what? Use it as a doorstop? If this was actually announced by CNN, it was done maybe 3 or 4 years ago. This is not news, and it's not the "OMG everybody panic!" scenario the e-mail message makes it out to be.

I realize you're offering this here in an effort to help, and don't fault you at all for posting it. It's just that these panicky e-mail messages have become so commonplace, and are so regularly debunked, that when there is a real, honest to goodness immediate threat, many people tend to miss getting the message because they've become desensitized to the warning.

Darren's advice is the same as I'd suggest. :thumb:
 
A general rule of mine is that it's always best to email the person (if you know them) to verify they sent you something and scan it for viruses before opening it anyway if they did.

I'll add what I always say when asked (and sometimes even if I'm not):
- NEVER open an email that you are not expecting.
- ANY unsolicited email should be considered hazardous.

Speaking as someone who has not had a virus in a decade or more; been so long I don't recall. :huh: Slogans to live by:

Renaming your dog because someone learned you password is not a good security practice.

A computer is not a toy.

Computers don't get a virus, a person gives it to them.

And all that rot :rofl:.
 
If this was actually announced by CNN, it was done maybe 3 or 4 years ago.



It's amazing how these things take on a life of their own, and live far longer than the viruses they warned against! :thumb:

Still, as the saying goes, eternal vigilance is the price of computing. Always better to warn than stay silent! :thumb:

Thanks,

Bill
 
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