[Northkeep] Virus alert?

[Marc Carlson]

Pretty much everyone is going to get something like this, if not this time 
then the next one.

If you get email from people you don't know, with an attachment - delete it. 
  Don't read it.  If you are one of those poor people who find it impossible 
to to delete mail unopened, get over it or get used to being infected 
(personally, I delete over 90% of the email I get every day - a side effect 
of having a popular website using my regular contact address (live and 
learn)).  if you ARE going to go the route of letting yourself be infected, 
do everyone you know a favor and delete your address file.

If you get an email from someone you know with an attachment, call them and 
-ask- if they sent it to you  BEFORE you open it.  If you are expecting one 
with an attachment from that person, the odds are in your favor that this 
once you are safe :)

if you get email from YOURSELF with an attachment, you can be pretty sure 
it's a virus package.

If you are using software that previews what's in your mail before you open 
it - just doing that will likely trigger the virus.

These viruses, when triggered, will (among other fun things) reproducing 
themselves to everyone in your address book - disquising themselves as 
someone else in your address book.  The good old days of knowing who sent 
you a virus are long past.

The latest one can come with a number of suggestive subject headings leading 
to even more irritating text all designed to entice you to open the 
attachment (this morning I got one titled "why me?", accusing the reader of 
calling the sender a terrorist, and that they were going to report him/her).

Now, if you follow these steps as outlined (i.e , don't open attachments to 
messages you haven't verified), you should be fairly safe and not have any 
need to panic.  Just update your virus detector with the latest profiles and 
go on.

M/D

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