Virus warning

[squiggle]

I got this from my sister who got it from her son-in-law who works for a data recovery company in UK.

"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." :worried:

Of course this may be some sort of joke or hoax but be alert!! I don't understand the advice to "shut down your computer immediately", that's not going to get you very far.

 

[Mamah]

This, and variations, has been around at least since June this year. It is said to be a hoax and may be followed up by another one that says "Your computer may have been infected by XYZ... and the only way to get rid of it is to pay $150 for our special cleaning program etc, etc, etc..."
But virus postcards do exist, so stay protected.

Mamah

 

[XMan101]

These kind of messages have been around from almost since the internet began. They are almost viruses in themselves as their sole purpose is to clog up and slow down the net while people perpetuate it by forwarding them on to all their friends & family.

The wording is always very similar ("It has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday") and should be immediately sorted out by using the delete button !

The more you forward them the more you play into the hands of the ones who create them.

All you need is a good and up to date virus checker * never download anything from someone if you don't know who sent it - especially if it's a .exe file

 

[jbjames]

I have received some very suspicious email's recently which I decided to delete immediately without opening. Do not open email which you do not identify as legitimate. You could invite a disaster.

LOL James

 

[topdog]

There are two issues here:

This virus warning e-mail is, as xman101 and Mamah have noted, a hoax. Microsoft & McAffee are not up in arms over a sudden e-postcard epidemic. The big deal at the moment is a virus called StuxNet that targets manufacturing and power plant operation systems (not home computers). Symantec testified about the threat to Congress on Wesnesday.

Second, while the postcard doomsday scenario is overblown (it does not reformat your hard drive), these viruses (or really worms technically), are out there and have been seen since 2008. The Hallmark e-card fakeout is common, as are coupons and offers from Coca-Cola, Amazon, and McDonalds. Symantec has info on preventing and recognizing these e-mails here.

Bottom line: Be very suspicious of good things that arrive unexpectedly in e-mails. And if you open one of those messages, for heaven sake don't click on anything or run any programs or zip files they contain. Also run a good anti-virus / anti-spyware package and make sure that it updates daily.

 

[slimjim]

If you want a very good FREE anti-virus then I recommend AVAST.. it updates automatically and runs continuously, scanning in real time.