Re: SB: Virus/Worm safeguards (OT)

[billc_lists@greenbuilder.com]

>OK, Rob, please remember there are a lot of real technophobics out here.
>
>So, (after spending a month getting my system over a virus) I bought
>another CPU and put my internet access on it, away from my business
>files. Since I connect to Juno with modem only (not over the internet)
>and I cannot get or send attachments, I thought I had sufficiently
>protected myself-- and all of you.
>
>BUT I recently got an email from ANTIGEN (whoever or whatever that is),
>to which I cannot reply, that says I had a virus. I did run the latest
>McAffee and it says I don't. Got any advice for me???
>
>JoMaMa

Hi Jo,

It depends upon the virus Antigen thinks you have.  It's quite 
probable that the virus was KLEZ or one of its bastard cousins, which 
takes two email addresses from the victim's correspondence, puts one 
in the TO and one in the FROM, and sends itself.

If you happened to be the lucky person whose email address was in the 
FROM, it'll look like the virus is coming from you.  But it's not.

Antigen probably isn't smart enough to recognize that fact yet. I'm 
pretty sure that Antigen is a virus protection software. It's 
probably programmed to respond to the FROM address with a warning.

Though there are other ways you can get viruses (floppies or other 
file transfer devices; or web surfing for instance) it sounds like 
you're probably safe.  Still, if you have a PC that communicates with 
the outside world in any way, it's probably wise to have antivirus 
software installed. And kept up to date.

-- 
Bill Christensen
billc@greenbuilder.com

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