Author: martin fierz
Date: 07:08:01 02/27/04
Go up one level in this thread
On February 27, 2004 at 09:30:59, Albert Silver wrote: >On February 27, 2004 at 08:56:00, martin fierz wrote: > >>On February 26, 2004 at 19:18:31, Albert Silver wrote: >> >>>On February 26, 2004 at 18:13:43, Bob Durrett wrote: >>> >>>>On February 26, 2004 at 16:18:41, John Merlino wrote: >>>> >>>>>On February 26, 2004 at 14:01:25, Stephen Ham wrote: >>>>> >>>>>>Dear John, >>>>>> >>>>>>I just received the following email, with attachment, from John Merlino. Since >>>>>>you're the only John Merlino whom I know, I thought I'd better post this to you. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>Thanks for your registration. >>>>>>( We say Sorry again, the first mail was delivered to an unknown mail address. >>>>>>This was a bug in our mailing system! ) >>>>>> >>>>>>The amount of 239.- USD was deducted by your credit card. >>>>>> >>>>>>Welcome, >>>>>>you can now visit more than 1200 very very hot web pages! >>>>>>Your registration, pages and passwords are in the attachment. >>>>>> >>>>>>enjoy >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>His email address is: John.Merlino@smtp02.fields.gol.com and he sent this to my >>>>>>work address, which is odd. That John Merlino didn't leave a name after writing >>>>>>"enjoy." >>>>>> >>>>>>I don't recall trying to register anywhere and I certainly don't recall >>>>>>authorizing any debit to my credit card for $239. The mention of "hot web pages" >>>>>>sounds like porno. You're not in that business now, are you, John? ;-) Since >>>>>>there's an attachment, this looks like a virus/worm. >>>>>> >>>>>>I'm guessing that it's a mere coincidence that the sender's name is the same as >>>>>>yours. I plan to delete the email after you confirm that you didn't send it. >>>>>> >>>>>>Thanks in advance, John. >>>>>> >>>>>>All the very best, >>>>>>Stephen Ham >>>>> >>>>>Well, I certainly didn't send it. :-) And I checked to make sure that your >>>>>e-mail that is listed in your profile is NOT in my address book, so I doubt I >>>>>have a virus. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>>I don't have any virus-checking software, but >>>> >>>>!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >>>> >>>>Unbelievable!!! >>>> >>> >>>I have to echo this. That is sheer lunacy (please don't be offended, it is in >>>proportion to my concern), and I can only conclude you have little idea how >>>vulnerable you really are. >> >>i'd like to add a little story to this. i consider myself to be quite >>computer-literate, but i just fell into something: >> >>i upgraded my home machine from windows ME to win XP. my XP version is the >>original win XP without all the security holes stuffed up. my computer is >>connected to the net with a cable modem, always on (it has to be to have muse >>play on ICC...). i have mcafee + zonealarm to protect my pc. here's what i >>didn't think about: >> >>once i upgraded to XP, it wasn't starting mcafee + zonealarm on startup any >>more. within a couple of minutes (probably it was only seconds, but i didn't >>notice quite as fast), my PC was infected with 2 worms (i didn't even have to >>open my email program for this...). when i attempted to open my virus scanner it >>closed down immediately again, same with regedit. the worm monitors your system >>and shoots down programs it doesn't like (after all, even a worm wants to >>live!). the windows update site was no use either, because the updates couldn't >>be installed any more. >> >>i had to start in safe mode, scan everything from there, because the worm is a >>service that gets started on system startup except in safe mode. >> >>bottom line: if you have no protection on the net these days, you are infected >>instantly. i used to think that most of the talk about firewalls and virus >>killers was panic-making fuelled by anti-virus and firewall manufacturers, that >>with "good behavior" (e.g. never open attachments of dubious nature) you were >>pretty safe anyway. i have revised my opinion! >> >>cheers >> martin > >Yes, the problem is that it is so easy to be infected it's not even funny. Many >times many think the issue is one of installing or opening programs of dubious >origins, but a virus can come from Javascript or java applets from webpages >without one's knowledge. Do not think for an instant it is going to hijack your >Outlook or whatever e-mail client to send e-mail. It will send it behind your >back on its own. the worms i caught used a well-known vulnerability of XP which was of course fixed; but my XP version was old and not fixed yet... i caught this worm neither through outlook nor through javascript/java or anything, just by being on the net with an old version of XP without firewall. i didn't have to open a single program to get it. of course it's still important not to open attachments etc, but it is not enough! cheers martin > >Firewall protection is probably much worse. I have a cable modem connection so I >understand the vulnerability. Most hackers are content to mess around, see what >you have, etc. Some not. For example, in the last 2 hours that I have been >online, I have had 6 intrusion attempt. Since I installed the program 2 years >ago or so, it has prevented 3097 intrusions, 271 of which were considered >serious attempts to break in. Others can include lighter things such as pings to >see if I'm online, etc. > > Albert
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