Virus warning

Chippy Wood · Post by **Chippy Wood** » 24 Jul 2003 2:03 pm

IMPORTANT WARNING >> >> >> >> Please Be Extremely Careful
Especially if using e-mails such as Yahoo, Hotmail and so on.
This information arrived this morning, from Microsoft and Norton.
Please send it to everybody you know who accesses the Internet.

You may receive an apparently harmless e-mail with a Power Point
presentation "Life is beautiful. pps".
If you receive it DO NOT OPEN THE FILE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, and delete it immediately.
If you open this file, a message will appear on your screen saying: "It is too late now, your life is no longer beautiful", subsequently you will LOSE EVERYTHING IN YOUR PC and the person who
sent it to you will gain access to your name,e-mail and password.

This is a new virus which started to circulate on Saturday afternoon.
WE NEED TO DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO STOP THIS VIRUS:
AOL has already confirmed the severity, and the antivirus Softs are not capable of destroying it.
The virus has been created by a hacker who calls himself "life owner",
PLEASE MAKE A COPY OF THIS EMAIL TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS.

------------------
Ron (Chippy) Wood
Carter S10/Pad

Chippy Wood · Post by **Chippy Wood** » 24 Jul 2003 2:25 pm

Jack Stoner informs me that the above warning is in fact a hoax. So please disregard.

------------------
Ron (Chippy) Wood
Carter S10/Pad

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 25 Jul 2003 9:58 am

The real warning to be taken seriously is this: never open an attachment unless the sender is someone who you know, who has told you in a separate email that s/he will be sending you a file.

Unannounced files in my mailbox get deleted without fanfare. I assume everything is a virus unless it's something that I have arranged to receive.

------------------
<img align=left src="http://b0b.com/Officeb0b.gif" border="0"> Bobby Lee
-b0b- quasar@b0b.com 

System Administrator

Donna Dodd · Post by **Donna Dodd** » 4 Aug 2003 3:56 pm

If no one has yet provided this information about a great software clean-up download, it’s worth sharing. It’s called SpyBot Search and Destroy. It’s absolutely free, and is pretty terrific. The site for information is: http://spybot.eon.net.au/index.php?lang=en&page=about
You can also get to it by going to www.spybot.com but then have to link from there. (Easier to just copy and paste the long address.)
If you had not heard of spyware until now, here’s a simple overview of the new threat. And Spybot - Search & Destroy can detect and remove spyware of different kinds from your computer. Spyware is a relatively new kind of threat that common anti-virus applications do not yet cover. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you didn't intentionally install (Comet Curser moved in on my computer), if your browser crashes, or if you browser start page has changed without your knowing, you probably have spyware. But even if you don't see anything, you may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging that is silently tracking our surfing behavior to create a marketing profile of you that will be sold to advertisement companies. Spybot-S&D is free, so I decided to see if anyone was snooping around inside my computer. After downloading and running the program just three weeks ago, I ran it again yesterday. I already had 157 additional threats that I had to destroy. Some sites require that you allow their spyware in order to visit, so be sure to read the details of each threat before destroying it.
Another official site for the dissemination of virus information and fixes is: http://www.pcsecuritynews.com/
Also lists email hoaxes and their history. The bottom line, as b0b said, is don’t open mail from an unrecognizable sender. I’ve also noticed lately that I am receiving first name messages from names within my address book. (i.e. I sent a note to Belinda Brown – the next day I receive a message from a Belinda (no last name). Nope, not my Belinda. And it happens often.
Donna

Bob Knight · Post by **Bob Knight** » 4 Aug 2003 4:09 pm

GUYS!!,
This one is almost TWO years old
This kind of crap is what keeps the web bogged down. Do a little research before you panic and become a hoax monger.

Virus Name: Life is Beautiful.pps
Status: Hoax.

Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2002]

This information arrived this morning, from Microsoft and Norton. Please send it to everybody you know who accesses the Internet.
You may receive an apparently harmless email with a PowerPoint presentation called "Life is beautiful.pps."

If you receive it DO NOT OPEN THE FILE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, and delete it immediately.

If you open this file, a message will appear on your screen saying: "It is too late now, your life is no longer beautiful", subsequently you will LOSE EVERYTHING IN YOUR PC and the person who sent it to you will gain access to your name, email and password.

This is a new virus which started to circulate on Saturday afternoon. WE NEED TO DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO STOP THIS VIRUS.

UOL has already confirmed its dangerousness, and the antivirus Softs are not capable of destroying it. The virus has been created by a hacker who calls himself "life owner", and who aims to destroying domestic PCs and who also fights Microsoft in court! That's why it comes disguised with extension pps. He fights in court for the Windows-XP patent.

MAKE A COPY OF THIS EMAIL TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS.

Origins: The warning about a Microsoft PowerPoint file named "Life is Beautiful" carrying a a computer-destroying virus is a hoax, one that has been with us since at least January 2002. It originally circulated in Portuguese, but it was later translated into English and a host of other languages.

Although this particular example is a hoax, PowerPoint presentations can contain viruses, so prudent computer users should always check downloaded or e-mailed PowerPoint presentations before opening them.

In September 2002 the hoax was circulated anew as "Everything is Beautiful."

If you really want a lot of spam and Popups, download the so-called spy programs.

Keep your virus programs up to date and be wary of what you open. This is far from rocket science.

[This message was edited by Bob Knight on 04 August 2003 at 05:17 PM.]