Re: LAST VIRUS FOR ME

[David Lodge]

Chip, old bean! Your erudite and normally omniscient self has omitted one rather appealing (if expensive) option. Get a Macintosh! Admittedly they are not virus-proof but they do seem to be far less affected than PCs. Regards David Lodge Chip Old wrote:

> On Tue, 11 Dec 2001 miturn@bellsouth.net wrote: > > > PLEASE TAKE ME OFF THIS LIST OR TELL ME HOW TO GET OFF IT. > > > > I'VE PICKED UP MY LAST THREE VIRUSES TODAY! > > > > THANKS FOR THE IMMEDIATE RESPONSE TO MY REQUEST > > > > Carol Marcom TC 6471 > > Lex Franks franksfam@ozemail.com.au>: The message that has caused all > the fuss was sent from your PC. The file attachment carries the > BadTrans.B Worm, which means your PC is infected by BadTrans.B. You need > to do something about that, otherwise your PC will continue to send out > infected messages. For more information see: > > http://www.bcpl.net/news/news.20011128a.badtrans > > Carol Marcom miturn@bellsouth.net>: No, you haven't picked up your last > three viruses. As long as your PC is connected to the Internet, you are > going to be exposed to viruses. Instead of blaming the MG-TABC list, > learn how to protect your PC. However your subsequent messages make it > pretty clear that your real complaint is about the volume of off-topic > messages posted to the MG-TABC list. If that's the case, say so. You > might also do your part toward getting the list back on course by > contributing something on-topic. I don't remember ever having seen any > posting from you before, either on or off topic. > > Everyone else: Okay folks, you are about to get the same lecture I give > my Internet Service customers. If you're not inclined to pay attention, > hit "delete" now. > > Will you all PLEASE stop panicking about viruses? You're not going to > avoid them by getting off this mailing list or any other mailing list. > If your computer is connected to the Internet, then you are going to > receive virus-infected e-mail. That's a fact of life on the Internet. > > To protect yourself you have two choices: Either learn how to manage the > "new technology" tools you have chosen to use, or pack your PC back in its > box, put it in the attic, and never touch it again. I'll assume the > latter isn't an option, so listen up. > > Most viruses that are distributed via e-mail are carried in a file > attachment. If the file attachment is opened on your PC, your PC becomes > infected. In most cases that means your PC begins sending out infected > e-mail of its own. How it selects addresses to send to varies from one > virus to another, but typically the virus gathers addresses from your > address book, and/or from e-mail messages in your inbox, and/or from > e-mail messages in saved mail folders, and/or from Web pages cached on > your hard disk by your Web browser. In most cases you won't know your PC > is doing this until you start getting complaints from the recipients of > the infected messages. > > Three simple precautions will protect your PC from viruses: > > 1) If you receive an unexpected e-mail file attachment, don't open it even > if it appears to be from someone you know. If in doubt, before > opening the attachment contact the apparent sender to find out if he/she > really intended to send it. > > 2) Make sure your e-mail program cannot automatically open file > attachments. Some older e-mail programs came configured to automatically > open attachments by default. That is very dangerous! If your mail > program is configured to automatically open file attachments, TURN THAT > OPTION OFF! > > Even worse, due to a bug in some versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer, > and due to the way Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express use Internet > Explorer, certain file types will always be opened automatically by > Internet Explorer no matter what. This "auto-open" bug has been known > about for a long time, and there is a patch on the Microsoft web site to > fix it. The patch is available at: > > http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS01-020.asp > > The affected versions are Internet Explorer 5.01 that has not > been updated by Service Pack 2, and Internet Explorer 5.5. Older versions > of Internet Explorer are no longer supported by Microsoft, and Microsoft > will not say whether they are affected by the "auto-open" bug. Internet > Explorer 6 is not affected. Therefore, if you use Microsoft Outlook or > Outlook Express for e-mail and also have Microsoft Internet Explorer, you > MUST do which ever of the following is appropriate: > > o If you have Internet Explorer older than version 5.01, upgrade to a > newer version. > o If you have Internet Explorer 5.01, either install Service Pack 2 or > the patch described above. > o If you have Internet Explorer 5.5, install the patch described above. > o If you have Internet Explorer 6 or newer, breathe easy for now but be > aware that new vulnerabilities are found in Microsoft software almost > every day. If a security patch or upgrade becomes available, install > it! > > 3) If you don't have an anti-virus program on your PC, get one, install > it, and learn how to configure it to protect your PC against e-mail > viruses. If you already have an anti-virus program, keep it up to date. > An anti-virus program that is not kept up to date doesn't know how to deal > with new viruses, so is next to useless. All anti-virus programs have > some sort of "Update" option that connects to the vendor's Web site to > download and install updated scanning engines and virus description files. > Run the updater frequently, at least once a week. > > When you got interested in working on old BritCars, you learned how to use > the tools necessary to maintain your car. You learned how to find the > parts and information it takes to keep the car going. You learned to > drive a fifty year old car with absolutely no modern safety features > safely in modern traffic. It isn't rocket science, and neither is > protecting your PC from viruses. If you were able to learn to care for > your old BritCar, then you are able to learn what it takes to protect your > PC from viruses > > > > -- > Chip Old (Francis E. Old) E-Mail: fold@bcpl.net > Manager, BCPL Network Services Phone: 410-887-6180 > Manager, BCPL.NET Internet Services FAX: 410-887-2091 > 320 York Road > Towson, MD 21204 USA > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[AJChalmers@aol.com]

In a message dated 12/17/01 8:54:36 PM Pacific Standard Time, wargs@Mac.com writes:

Get a Macintosh! Admittedly they are not virus-proof but they do seem to be far less affected than P

Cs I can remember when all the viruses arrived by Mac 10 -15 years ago. I had a gang of Macs at the Sierra Club , where I was director of systems. People used sneaker-net a lot and brought the little nasties in from home and places like UC Berkeley.

[Chip Old]

On Mon, 17 Dec 2001, David Lodge wrote:

> Chip, old bean! > Your erudite and normally omniscient self has omitted one rather appealing > (if expensive) option. > Get a Macintosh! Admittedly they are not virus-proof but they do seem to be > far less affected than PCs. > Regards > David Lodge

I agree, and I've been using Macintosh computers almost since they were invented. But I've given up trying to convert Windoze users. -- Chip Old 1948 M.G. TC TC6710 XPAG7430 NEMGTR #2271 Cub Hill, Maryland 1962 Triumph TR4 CT3154LO CT3479E fold@bcpl.net

[Bob McKarney]

Mr Chalmers has a good memory for ancient Mac history. As a long time conservative and Mac user, I can confirm that many of us have been infected by nasties from both UC Berkely and even the Sierra Club, but that's a seperate issue completely. My current observation is that Macs do have built in firewalls that avoid some viruses, but the real reason they don't get many seems to be that the hackers that create these little beasts design them for the largest impact, and there are 10 times as many PC's than there are Macs out there. As Chip Old observed, I'm rather smugly content with my Mac and have abandoned evangelical efforts in what once was the PC/Mac religious issue.

[seabrook@en.com]

Chip, Dave, & Group, We have a MAC computer, it works just fine for our family needs, & we have yet to get a virus. No way an I going to a PC. Craig Seabrook Whitworth Shop TC/0911 David Lodge wrote:

> > Chip, old bean! > Your erudite and normally omniscient self has omitted one rather appealing > (if expensive) option. > Get a Macintosh! Admittedly they are not virus-proof but they do seem to be > far less affected than PCs. > Regards > David Lodge

[Roger Furneaux]

Quite right - my iMac has NEVER caught a virus, but I have not found out how to open Word type attachments yet! Roger

>Chip, old bean! >Your erudite and normally omniscient self has omitted one rather appealing >(if expensive) option. >Get a Macintosh! Admittedly they are not virus-proof but they do seem to be >far less affected than PCs. >Regards >David Lodge

[Chip Old]

On Wed, 19 Dec 2001, Roger Furneaux wrote:

> Quite right - my iMac has NEVER caught a virus, but I have not found > out how to open Word type attachments yet!

This is getting *WAY* off-topic, but... For greatest reliability you need the application that originally created the document, Microsoft Word in this case. Word costs about US$140, or you can get the whole Microsoft Office suite: Word (word processing), Excel (spreadsheet), Powerpoint (presentation) & Entourage (e-mail) for about US$430. I see from your message header that you use Outlook Express for e-mail. Entourage is sort of a beefed up version of Outlook Express. Or you may be able to open the attachments in another word processing program that can open Word documents. Some versions of AppleWorks (formerly ClarisWorks) can do it, and most iMacs have AppleWorks or ClarisWorks pre-installed. If not, you can buy AppleWorks for about US$80. AppleWorks includes word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation modules (like Microsoft Office, but much less expensive). To open a Word document in AppleWorks you'll need to start up AppleWorks, then use its "Open" menu option. A bettwe way is to use your Mac's "File Exchange" control panel to "map" Microsoft Word documents to AppleWorks. Once you've done that you'll be able to double-click on a Word document icon to open it in AppleWorks. Another option is to purchase and install MacLink Plus, a sort of universal translator that can convert files from one format to another. About US$90. I think it is now included with AppleWorks. All prices shown are typical mail order prices here in the US, not list prices. -- Chip Old 1948 M.G. TC TC6710 XPAG7430 NEMGTR #2271 Cub Hill, Maryland 1962 Triumph TR4 CT3154LO CT3479E fold@bcpl.net

[Carlyle Merritt]

look into a free virus download if you can't remember to renew your virus protection plan with Norton or others. Be sure to add/remove all virus plans before ypu activate this plan. You need to register with your email address on line and they will send you an activation number via email to use. This is a simple plan - you can update it often and it is good without being updated like norton. Carlyle Merritt http://www.grisoft.com

[Edward Dunn]

> http://www.grisoft.com

This is indeed an excellent antivirus; AVG. It's successfully avoided all viruses so far. And, it's free. Ed

[Chip Old]

On Wed, 19 Dec 2001, Carlyle Merritt wrote:

> look into a free virus download if you can't remember to renew your > virus protection plan with Norton or others. Be sure to add/remove all > virus plans before ypu activate this plan. You need to register with > your email address on line and they will send you an activation number > via email to use. This is a simple plan - you can update it often and > it is good without being updated like norton.

Yes, Grisoft's AVG is a good anti-virus program, but your phrase "it is good without being updated like norton" is not true. No anti-virus program can guarantee to detect viruses it doesn't know about. The whole purpose of doing frequent updates is to give your anti-virus program the information it needs to detect the latest viruses. Grisoft's AVG is no exception. If you go to their Web site you'll see that Grisoft issues frequent updates, just like Symantec (Norton Antivirus), Mcafee (Virus Scan), F-Secure Anti-Virus, and most others. AVG uses "heuristic analysis" to detect things that *might* be viruses not already known to AVG, so in that sense AVG can do its job even if you never update it. Sort of. Maybe. Most other major anti-virus programs also do heuristic analysis, so the same goes for them. Don't let the fact that your anti-virus program does heuristic analysis lull you into thinking you can get sloppy about doing updates. There is never a guarantee that heuristic analysis will catch every virus. Any anti-virus program will do a better job of stopping viruses it knows about, and that requires frequent updates no matter what anti-virus program you use. -- Chip Old 1948 M.G. TC TC6710 XPAG7430 NEMGTR #2271 Cub Hill, Maryland 1962 Triumph TR4 CT3154LO CT3479E fold@bcpl.net