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[MCAT]

THIS WARNING came via email  to all staff at the company I work at.  we are world wide so I think it maybe as it states they have first
checked it out before sending the warning. all I have removed is company name and sender's name.


HUGE VIRUS COMING

 

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 all your contacts ASAP.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG YOUR 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 drive of your computer.

This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address on his/her contact list. That 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 if it is 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
 

 

 

[dodgy geezer]

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_postcard_virus.htm

If you have received this through your company you should send a copy to the company IT Security Officer, or the IT Support Desk, and ask if they really meant to send it....

[dougal99]

I've checked Snopes and this is not quite a hoax but vastly overstated and not new

http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/postcard.asp

[dodgy geezer]

Could I ask the moderators to delete any of these scam chain mail letters which are sent round so often? This is simply spam, and goes to make up the problem of over 90% of all e-mail traffic being unwanted rubbish. Perhaps they could be diverted into a Spam section if people really want to read them....

It is also dangerous since it can easily be a vector for malicious code - if people get used to the idea that they should do something because they receive a message from someone who claims to be authoritative telling them to do so, they will soon be clicking on hyperlinks and running code associated with the message...

If it ever becomes essential to send a warning message to all users of Mayhem, this should be sent from an authoritative source in Mayhem, and only from there. If anyone really believes that there is an urgent warning we should all receive, they should send a personal to an administrator who can check it out and transmit if necessary. And people should be encouraged to get into the habit of checking sources when they receive any warning, rather than passing them on automatically....

[Martin (Admin)]

You're right dodgy geezer but just let me take this opportunity to say'

CHECK YOUR Anti Virus is:
1. Active,
2. Up to date &
3. RUN A FULL SCAN TODAY!

[malcolmfrary]

A seasonal warning (copied from another thread) -
This time possibly a real one. I just got an email from  NIRibate@dbsdatamail.co.uk
It looks quite "official" and tells you that you may be entitled to a National Insurance rebate, and provides a helpful link.  I didn't follow it, but looked up references to "dbsdatamail.co.uk".  One of the links was on a forum called moneysavingexpert.  It looks like this is a spam outfit that would like your National Insurance number, and any other useful details they can pry out of you.

Some of the contributors had the following mottoes - good advice in both cases.
Don't lie, thieve, cheat or steal. The Government do not like the competition.
Learn from the mistakes of others - you won't live long enough to make them all yourself.

[dodgy geezer]

Seconded, though maybe not quite so loud!


People should:

- run a decent AV package (there are good free ones)
- run a decent spyware detector (there are good free ones)
- back up critical data on their PCs occasionally. Use an external hard drive or copy to DVD. At least keep your photos!
- use a half-way decent password on important web-based services like banking, or Mayhem!

If they have a laptop which they take out of the house, they should ensure that it is not set up to automatically access sensitive services without manually putting a password in.

There's lots more things they could do, but I think these are a sensible minimum set.

 

[dodgy geezer]

This time possibly a real one. I just got an email from  NIRibate@dbsdatamail.co.uk
It looks quite "official" and tells you that you may be entitled to a National Insurance rebate, and provides a helpful link.  I didn't follow it, but looked up references to "dbsdatamail.co.uk".  One of the links was on a forum called moneysavingexpert.  It looks like this is a spam outfit that would like your National Insurance number, and any other useful details they can pry out of you.

There are vast numbers of these scams and spams. The important thing to remember is not to respond. If you do anything - even click on their 'Send me no more data' link, you have indicated that a live person is at your end of the email link.

Email addresses with live people at the end are worth money. If you indicate that you are alive, your email address will immediately be sold to other spammers, and you will soon have a lot more 'interesting' offers to respond to...


One useful trick is to use multiple e-mail addresses. ISPs usually give you the option of half a dozen. So, if you are John Smith:


- create JSmith@ISP.co.uk for your family and personal mail
- create JSbuy1@ISP.co.uk for buying things from the internet
- create JStest1@ISP.co.uk for submitting to sites which you don't trust much

If, after a while, JStest1@ISP.co.uk becomes crowded with spam, just delete that email address and create a new JStest2@ISP.co.uk

[The long Build]

What About Commercial Virus's   and we all fall for them 

Christmas
Valentines
Fathers-Day
Mothers-day

 just some off them

Each Year we are sent messages via Press, television etc etc  to go and buy cards , and useless presents .. and we DO..   

[MCAT]

dodgy geezer
Could I ask the moderators to delete any of these scam chain mail letters which are sent round so often? This is simply spam, and goes to make up the problem of over 90% of all email traffic being unwanted rubbish. Perhaps they could be diverted into a Spam section if people really want to read them....

MCAT
the mail we all received at work was from a trusted source. and the it dept .
the post by me cannot infect anyone on Mayhem as it holds no mail address to respond to.

I thought it was worth posting to people as they may not have not heard of this virus and can arrive as if sent by a friend.
I have learnt my lesson. will not bother again.

[dodgy geezer]

MCAT

I thought it was worth posting to people as they may not have not heard of this virus and can arrive as if sent by a friend.
I have learnt my lesson. will not bother again.

No one is questioning your intentions. I am sure you had the best of motives. But recycling chain-letter warnings when there is no specific threat simply makes any real warning much harder to pass out when it needs to be sent...

MCAT

the mail we all received at work was from a trusted source. and the it dept .

I am an IT Security consultant with a specialism in malicious software and incident handling. If the above statement is accurate, I suspect your corporate IT Security services could do with some improvement, and am available for hire should you wish to take the matter further...

[MCAT]

I should have said we got the mail from an internal source including the it dept.  who have the company well covered
the source is a trusted member of staff and not prone to passing on junk mail. 

statement from another post.   
I've checked Snopes and this is not quite a hoax but vastly overstated and not new

so home user's can get gaught by this ,  ayway thats the end of it

cheers

[The long Build]

Never trust anything from an IT Department..

[tigertiger]

I always think a discussion like this is usefull. And they do occur a few times every year.

Why, are they useful?
Because many of us are not geeks and are not as computer/internet savvy as we would like to be.

This is a good platform for explaining the nature of Hoaxes and how they can be as malicious/vexing as some viruses.
And informing others about the sites that can be used for validating if a message is in fact genuine warning or a hoax (most cases a hoax).

Hoaxes come in many forms.
- Virus Warnings
- I was drugged and the Russian mafia stole my kidneys...
- Cola cans and rats urine...
- free anti virus update ... downlad now

Not to mention the phishing scams.

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

If I get any messages that say this....

PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS!

I delete them... 

[Martin (Admin)]

Never trust anything from an IT Department..

Oi!   I is work in the iT dept! ....  

I hate all this 'Jafakean' street talk......I went to the 'job centre' and they said, " We got a job for you 'nit!"
... Turns out it was a job in iT!

I was a window cleaner and I turned up at work 10 years ago and said I come to do your Windows.... they gave me a chair, desk & computer and that was that....

.... no extra charge for the Christmas cracker jokes.  

Topic renamed.

[dodgy geezer]

If I get any messages that say this....PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS!

I delete them... 

Quite correct.

 No properly-designed warning system can operate by allowing unauthorised persons to transmit the warning - central control of the message, and hence its authoritative nature is lost. Anyone could modify the message as it passes and you have no control of versions, so you can't rely on being able to update the message properly - there are many reasons why this is wrong, though the idea appears attractive....

The most you should ask people to do is to get them to tell their friends, family and contacts to 'read the official message on the web' or 'listen to the emergency channel at regular intervals'.



Some indications that a message might be a 'viral hoax' are:

- A claim that the message comes from an authoritative source, but one that is not easy to check ( 'Microsoft said', or 'Lt Tom Dix of LAPD said')

- Exaggerated and inappropriate technical detail ('The virus contains a zero day recursive code sequence which will destroy sector zero of your C drive..')

- A request to pass the message on to all friends and acquaintances ...

[funtimefrankie]

Oi!   I is work in the iT dept! ....  

I hate all this 'Jafakean' street talk......I went to the 'job centre' and they said, " We got a job for you 'nit!"
... Turns out it was a job in iT!

I was a window cleaner and I turned up at work 10 years ago and said I come to do your Windows.... they gave me a chair, desk & computer and that was that....

.... no extra charge for the Christmas cracker jokes.  

Topic renamed.

#

You're not that chap that turned up at the BBC for a job interview and ended up being interviewed on Breakfast TV 

[dougal99]

Oi!   I is work in the iT dept! ....  

Excerpt from IT suppoert training manual

Repeat after me:

Have you tried turning off and on again?


 

[omra85]

Excerpt from IT suppoert training manual

Repeat after me:

Have you tried turning off and on again?

You mean there's more in it 

Someone must have thought our IT department needed a bit of peace and quiet -
they put a notice on the door saying "SH" 

Danny

[Martin (Admin)]

 I don't usually post these but I thought there is some good points here.....

    
   'A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that someone she knew had
their car broken into while they were at a football game. Their car was
parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and
specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included
a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been
prominently mounted on the dashboard.

   When the victims got home, they found that their house had been
ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen.
   The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then
used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain
entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football
game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so
they knew how much time they had to clean out the house. It would
appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents.
  
   Something to consider if you have a GPS - don't put your home
address in it. Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so you
can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know
where you live if your GPS were stolen.'
  

 
 MOBILE PHONES
  'I never thought of this.......
   This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on
her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which
contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet...Etc...was stolen.
20 minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling
him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking
about our Pin number and I've replied a little while ago .'
   When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the
money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen
cell phone to text 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin
number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their
bank account.

 

   Remember:
   Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list.
  
   Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mum, etc.... And very importantly, when sensitive info is
being asked through texts,  CONFIRM by calling back..
  
   Also, when you're being text by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came
from them.. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you.

[dodgy geezer]

Ah, Martin - did you check Snopes? http://www.snopes.com/crime/intent/gps.asp

With all of these stories there is a grain of truth - at the least, the stories are often possible, and very occasionally something similar (though usually less extreme) has actually happened. But what you are doing here is spreading paranoia and suspicion for no good reason. The chances of this sort of thing happening (as you will see if you read the Snopes) are vanishingly rare.

The main effect of passing stories like this is to enhance fear, and encourage the authorities to produce ever more authoritarian and oppressive legislation as the press circulate even wilder rumours, in an attempt to sell more stories. This country is already suffering greatly as a result - try taking a picture in London - and a major driver is our insatiable appetite for exaggerating threats.

Most people already know not to leave their GPS visible in the car - if you want to tell people something they don't know, you might remind them to wipe of the tell-tale circular mark on the windscreen from where the GPS sucker was mounted, since a number of youngsters who break into cars have mentioned that they look for this when picking a car to smash the windows of.

But PLEASE don't encourage the passing of exaggerated and out-of-date warnings around. All it does is scare people unnecessarily, and makes any real warning less likely to be listened to...

[DickyD]

If you read Martins post properly you will see he is just expressing an opinion on what he thinks is good advice, and why not.

I don't usually post these but I thought there is some good points here.....

So how about putting the soap box away for a while.

[dodgy geezer]

So how about putting the soap box away for a while.

(rant) Because this sort of thing causes me (and others) a lot of difficulty in my professional life. There are an infinite number of things to worry about, and an infinite amount of good advice which can be tendered. Unfortunately, if you get onto the never-ending spiral of providing such warnings and advice, without checking whether the information is accurate and timely as well as being good, the result is:

1) to scare society sufficiently so that people live in a suppressed atmosphere of terror. People do get scared by these stories.
2) to dilute the effect of any real warnings which may need to be put out.
3) to encourage newspapers and other irresponsible pressure groups to press for extreme regulation and legislation, which opresses society and creates excessive costs. For example, current proposals for regulations enabling government control and monitoring of the internet are all driven by these scare stories - the cost of many billions will be paid by us.

Putting out 'good' advice is not a victimless crime. It really does affect us all... (/rant)

[DickyD]

Thats the fifth time on this topic that you have said more or less the same thing, maybe we should delete you to stop you filling up Martins server space.

An opinion is fine, we all agree you should be allowed to voice it, but not over and over.