NASTY VIRUS TODAY - W32.Klez.E@mm

[Chiguy]

Thanks for the heads up.

[Brangwen]

Fellow Members:

Snagged another one!

Man, if emails infected with this virus W32.Klez.E@mm or a variant with "@mm" as a suffix were fish, I'd be over my quota!

Thank goodness for NAV!

Brangwen

[blinking-curser]

There is a really simple cure for those nasty things
http://www.eudora.com/
a superior email program, the freebie has ads, but if you pay for it, nothing but functionality. And the bonus? The virii out there aren't attacking it. Think outside the box.
2c

[Brangwen]

Blinking-Cursor:

Thx. I've tried Pegasus and Eudora before ... didn't care for them. But, I may check them out again.

Fortunately, my every virus infected file has been snagged by NAV giving a "Say Hey" Willie Mays type of performance!

Oddly, Microsoft supposedly released patches to fix these security problemos, but they haven't worked for me!

My wife uses Incredimail and has had no difficulties, but I haven't the desire for that candy program! I truly like Outlook over the others ...

So, still undecided.


Thx for the link!

Brangwen

[krohnjw]

I actually read about this virus today in a PC mag. It loads through the preview pane of OE, the REALLY need to rewrite that code. It lies dormant and on the 6 and 16th of every month acts, something like that, can't remember which dates exactly. If it is January or July it erases your entire Hd, but the rest of the month's just replaces all of your .mp3, .html., .c, .cpp, .txt and others....it was a long list. Good luck gettign rid of it.

[MDdan]

Quote:

the REALLY need to rewrite that code.

They did, and the patch has been out for over a year. But that doesn't mean there aren't a slew of people who haven't patched.

Repeat after me:

I will run windows update
I will run windows update
I will run windows update


And pay attention after that, cause new stuff comes out every day, not just for Microsoft.

[krohnjw]

I dont use OE, or any other mail program for that matter, so I dont keep track of the updates. Thanks for the info though

[Armadel]

Regarding this virus and others, I see posts that say do not open the message, yet comment that they never open the attachment.

I never open the attachment from an unknown source, but generally will read the message.

So, is it safe to open the message, if I dont open the
attachment ?

Please be specific about which is which.

[surreal]

Armadel,
If you do not open the attachment you don't have a worry.
But, it's also a good idea to not use the preview pane either.
One of the things I did notice about Outlook in the couple weeks I used it, was that some e-mails where trying to set cookies on my system.
That made me nuts! How dare they spam me and then try a cookie to boot!

Quote:

They did, and the patch has been out for over a year. But that doesn't mean there aren't a slew of people who haven't patched.

Oh yeah?? WEll that's why I opened it. I had run an update on all my systems the day before. I have never updated OS software before, I've always ignored it! That's why I figured MS now had my email addy and sent out another IE update notice. Sure in hindsight it was pretty stupid, but MS doesn't always make sense to me.
I've gone back to Pegasus.
Hee hee, Fingers got the email cause he talked me into using Outlook.. So maybe...
Besides he's so paranoid he won't open an attachment from his Grandmother!

[MDdan]

Quote:

Originally posted by Armadel


So, is it safe to open the message, if I dont open the
attachment ?

[/b]

In this case, no it is not.

The message had a script that executed the attachment. True text only email, in a basic email client, cannot execute anything. But Outlook is a far cry from text only.

The reason this happened is that there was a vulnerability in Outlook that allowed it to happen. It's also a general design issue, Microsoft designs products with features, not security in mind. Microsoft issued a patch, and if you keep current with patches, you can be 95% sure you're O.K. But by design, Outlook (and for that matter, some other Microsoft products) are not as secure is some other products with fewer features.

Virus writers are bottom feeders, and aren't exactely at the cutting edge of security issues. There's usually a delay between a vulnerability becoming known, and a virus actually using it. During that time, the vendors usually fix the problem with a patch.

But you have to patch it to be safe. And there are many, many unpatched systems.