(4th attempt @ post in over 3 hrs.) Not anymore. You've just been very lucky. Several times lately I have gotten vir*ses JUST by VISITING webpages (Norton protected me though). Nothing at all has to be done. They are imbedding malicious code within the HTML of webpages. No amount of 'common sense' or safe computing can protect you from those other than an updated AV program, and then you may not always be safe. Even worse, is the fact that gif images can now be 'infected' (for lack of a better term). I posted this info at some other email lists, but was met with ridicule because many thought I was lying or making it up, so I did not post it here. But, it IS indeed true. This is what I posted below: ============================== This is certainly a first for me, and I knew it would eventually happen. Lately I have been getting vir*s alerts JUST from LOOKING at webpages ALONE. Norton would stop them of course. This was something new, so be on the alert for that. They have so far all been this vir*s listed below, but were all .html or .htm documents placed in the temp internet files folder, or attempted I should say, then quarantined.
Now if that's not bad enough, I just got a GIF image that was a troj*n! A GIF. Most thought this was impossible, but obviously it is not. So, what this means is, now sending simple images of j*kes, screen shots, scans, etc, that many of us do, could possibly be infected with vir*ses. The particular vir*s that was sent to quarantine was the JS.exception.exploit It was attempted to be sent to my temporary internet files folder just from looking at a webpage. It has the .gif extension and the standard GIF icon, and NO, it does not have two extensions, only one. It appeared to look like a typical gif from what I saw when opening it in notepad, and right clicking it and checking properties showed it was a gif. Obviously it goes without saying that ANYTIME one is connected to the net, an AV program MUST be running at all times, and don't forget to check for updates DAILY. Not weekly, but DAILY. ================================= I don't see how anyone can say that, especially from you Gerry. You know there are many new w*rms & vir*ses every day. Of course when they first come out, NO patches, fixes or even the latest vir*s definitions can protect you since the AV companies & MS have not yet found fixes for them! A group of people, somewhere must first be infected, then realize this, and submit them to the AV companies before they can send out def's for them. I can specifically recall a time recently when I checked for updates from Norton at the start of one day, and it had them so it downloaded and installed them. Later that day, I got some suspect email with an attachment. Always being suspicious of them, I scanned the attachment and Norton said OK. I wasn't fully convinced of this due to the text in the message body. I saved it to a folder. Later on that day Norton had another update. I thought I would scan it again, and low and behold, it WAS indeed a vir*s! The program after scanning it recommended I submit to SARC (Symantec, which is Norton for those of you who do not know). If I would not have checked for the second update and I would have been a risky PC user, I would have been infected with that vir*s. It is ALWAYS bad to open attachments, regardless of who they are from and even if you scan them. This is a testament to that. Scanning a download or file, etc, does not give one impunity to being infected. Why gamble why not update them daily? You are playing a very risky game, and I know you are a smart guy, so I can't understand this. :) I guess not using OE or outlook has helped you somewhat. Good luck to you. :-) -Clint God Bless Us All Clint Hamilton, Owner http://OrpheusComputing.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gerald E. Boyd" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> At 10:53 AM 11/3/01 -0600, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Clint Hamilton wrote the following: >Problem with that is a SERIOUS problem. Updates only once >per month! Norton has updates almost daily, sometimes more >than once per day. There are dozens of new vir*ses out every >week, and if you don't have the latest up to the minute >updates, you'll get infected. An AV program is ONLY as good >at it's latest definitions. Save yourself tons of trouble >and stay away from McAfee. Sorry but I have to jump in here. You don't need to get an v*rus update daily!! I've been on-line continuously since 1978 and have NEVER gotten a v*rus. It's up to you the user to protect yourself by following safe computing practices. Yes, you need a v*rus scanner program, yes it should be updated, but when is a matter of preference. There was a period of time in the late 80's and early 90's when my McAfee wasn't updated for 2 years or so at a stretch (I'm not recommending this practice!, just commenting about it). My Norton hasn't been updated since 221 days ago (I just checked). AVG is as of 25Sep01. (InoculateIT has been un-installed on my systems). Things to do and don't do. 1) Always apply patches to bad software, especially MS programs 2) Use an e-mail client other than MS Outlook 3) Don't open attachments, unless v*rus scanned first. 4) Don't allow auto-launch of MS programs 5) Don't download software hacks, cracks, pirated versions, etc., from w*rez sites UNLESS you v*rus scan them before installing. -- Gerry Boyd ============= PCWorks Mailing List ================= Don't see your post? Check our posting guidelines & make sure you've followed proper posting procedures, http://pcworkers.com/rules.htm Contact list owner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Unsubscribing and other changes: http://pcworkers.com =====================================================
