Virus alert......may be valid

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Balladeer

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

0 posted 2005-04-26 09:29 PM

I received this notice from a friend. It may or may not be valid but I think it's worthwhile to take into consideration....

If you receive an email titled: "It Takes Guts to Say Jesus"
DO NOT OPEN IT. It will erase everything on your hard drive.
This information was announced yesterday morning from IBM; AOL states that this is a very dangerous virus, much worse than
"Melissa," and that there is NO Remedy for it at this time.
Some very sick individual has succeeded in using the reformat function from Norton Utilities causing it to completel y erase all documents on the hard drive.
It has been designed to work with Netscape Navigator and ! Microsoft Internet Explorer.
It destroys Macintosh and IBM co mpatible computers.

This is a new, very malicious virus and not many people know about it. Pass this warning along to EVERYONE in your address book ! and please share it with all your online friends ASAP so that this threat maybe stopped.

Please practice cautionary measures and tell anyone that may have access to your computer. Forward this warning to everyone that you know that might access the Internet.

Joyce L Bober
IBM Information Systems
Pittsburgh Mailing Systems
412 - 922-8744

Alicat
Member Elite

since 1999-05-23

Posts 4094
Coastal Texas

1 posted 2005-04-26 09:38 PM

Joy and rapture. I've seen a plethora of those going around, even getting flooded in my spam box with 122kb attachment emails. On the up side, I reckon it's a good thing I use Firefox primarily instead of IE, and I haven't liked Netscape since AOL did their version by committee after buying the license. But I digress.

I even tried warning the youngest here, who's in his mid teen years, about emails with attachments and why he shouldn't open them. His response was 'I don't, unless the emails are from my friends.' He just don't understand yet, though he's been the one to compromise every system in the house by such unsafe practices, although one really wasn't his fault. He tried heading to a skateboard site which was hijacked, that gave an instant redirect to a porn site with very malicious javascript embedded in the page. Good thing I don't mind reformats, since that's what it took to completely clear the bugger out.

Balladeer

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

2 posted 2005-04-26 10:19 PM

I tried going to a porn site once and got re-directed to a skateboad site with a malicious javascript bug...go figure!

Sunshine

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-25

Posts 63354
Listening to every heart

3 posted 2005-04-26 10:47 PM

http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/jesus-hoax.html

I love Google. Just put in the key words with the one word "virus" after it, and you will be directed toward whether it's a true virus - or hoax.

Luckily, this is a hoax...

Balladeer

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

4 posted 2005-04-26 11:50 PM

Wonderful...thank you, Sunshine!

Titia Geertman
Member Ascendant

since 2001-05-07

Posts 5182
Netherlands

5 posted 2005-04-27 12:58 PM

I'm always glad when a virus appears to be a hoax.

Thanks for the warning.

Titia

Like scattered leaves...my words will flow

Local Rebel
Member Ascendant

since 1999-12-21

Posts 5767
Southern Abstentia

6 posted 2005-04-27 01:06 AM

Cat -- Can't you set your browser security options so that redirects aren't possible? I have Firefox but don't use it much because I find it surfs slower -- but I can, and do set my IE security to avoid redirects (although when browsing trusted sites like this one I reset them to allow it so I can do things like edit and smart search since there is no click thru link available)

Alicat
Member Elite

since 1999-05-23

Posts 4094
Coastal Texas

7 posted 2005-04-27 09:56 AM

Yeah, there's ways around redirects. This was many years ago and that comp wasn't normally online. We allowed it that once, and WHAM! This was in the dark days, before I learned of Spybot S&D, Adaware, ZoneAlarm, AVG, SG and SB. Dark days indeed.

Balladeer

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

8 posted 2005-04-27 12:07 PM

I've been using Firefox for about 6 months now and I think it's great, although any extra speed IE may give is not an issue with me. I like the customization of the add-ons which has features much more powerful than IE. ALso, it seems that whenever the bad boys come up with new viruses they tend to go after IE, partially because it is so used and partially to get at Gates. I suppose, however, that as Firefox gains in popularity they will go after it, too....eternal vigilance.

SmartChick
Member Rara Avis

since 2001-09-23

Posts 7081
On A Journey To The Unknown

9 posted 2005-04-27 08:54 PM

Thank you for letting us know, Balladeer.

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