A Virus Containing E-Mail from Tovaz
 

Fellow FTers.....I wanted to share this situation with everyone.

Today I recieved the following e-mail:
<tovaz@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> > Hi! How are you?
> >
> > I send you this file in order to have your advice
> >
> > See you later. Thanks
> >
> > << File Attachment "application/mixed; name=minsust.xls.bat"

I've never spoken to this particular FTer, and found it strange to have gotten the e-mail in the first place. I wrote back:

> I'm sorry. Do I know you? And what is this file you sent me?

Tovaz then wrote back:
DO NOT OPEN THE FILE. IT HAS BEEN INFECTED WITH A VIRUS. DELETE
IMMEDIATELY.

At this point I'm really confused. Tovaz still has yet to explain himself. Why would someone send another FTer a file that contained a virus?!?!

At any rate, if you get the same e-mail from him and it contains minsust.xls.bat delete it right away. I just wanted to spread the word about the file.

[This message has been edited by Russ21Atl (edited 08-19-2001).]

I do not know Tovaz, but can assure you that others have been effected by this mailing from sources spread far and wide. I received something like this from a friend in Shanghai and was mailed a day later that it should be deleted. I suspect Tovaz got hit with an Outlook unfriendly virus and was trying to advise anybody in his/her list that might have been nailed. Sounds like a good deed to repair any unlucky souls who got the e-mail. Anybody else who gets this e-mail should also delete it ASAP.

Mike

------------------
a FlyerTalk tradition continues in November 2001 in Cannes, France......

Check the PiP 2001 Website or the FT Topic for details and news.

I forget the name of this particular virus, but if you get it, it sends itself as an attachment to randomly selected people in your address book, with a message such as the one you got. Topaz did not send it to you; the virus sent itself. Apparently, when Topaz figured out that he'd gotten the virus, he send messages out to warn people that the virus might have sent itself to, using his computer.

I got this virus from a person in Washington, and unknowingly opened it. Yes, the virus is the one responsible for sending your random documents to people whose email addresses are in your computer. Do a search on the board and there are other threads which contain links to help remove the virus.

The responses from people who have been affected by the virus sent from my computer have varied. From concerned to outraged.

Linda

I got several e-mails from unknown sources. The e-mail states "hi, how are you". This told me they do not know me (not addressing me by name). It has a file attached (probably with the virus http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif). I delete these ASAP.

Actually, this type of virus is a bit more tricky than using the melissa-style outlook address book to find new recipients. Instead it searches the cached web pages on the hard drive for e-mail addresses embedded in those pages (typically [email protected], but it may be a real address in case of a bulletin board web page)... Anyway, if I receive an attachment from someone I don't know, I wouldn't touch it without taking additional precautions.

Sir.Cam virus. This has been going around
for a few weeks now. It punishes people for
using Micr$$$t Outl$$k. Many humble folks that use PC-pine or Eudora or a Macintosh
are spared this punishment :-)

Russ21Atl: Have you been under a rock? There have been several news reports (CNN, BBC etc..) and posts here on FT about this virus. Just delete the thing and apologize to tovaz for jumping down his throat!!

akhullar - This virus is not limited to the usual Outlook and Outlook Express. I got hit with this virus at my office and the email that I use there is Lotus Notes.

Larrude: There's a difference between getting the virus, and being able to re-propagate it. Please confirm whether you just were "infected" with the virus, or if you know for sure that it sent out copies of itself as e-mail from your computer.

A few suggestions, all of which can be found elsewhere but in this case bear repeating:

1. If it works for you, and I have no financial or personal interest in any vendors, avoid Microsoft products. They are not necessarily less secure than others, but they are the most attractive virus target because of their market share. Macintosh users have escaped all the well-known recent viruses.

2. Get one of the major anti-virus checking products, keep it updated via the vendor's Web site (all of them come with instructions for doing this) and keep it enabled.

3. Do not open attachments from ANYBODY unless you know what they are. When in doubt, confirm with the sender.

4. Read enough of the computing press to stay aware of the major viruses going around.

5. Make regular backups, so you'll be able to recover all your important work and personal files in case you have to totally reformat and re-initialize your hard disk.

I would suggest also removing the "preview pane" in Outlook. Some viruses will run just from being displayed.

TW

No I haven't been living under a rock. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif The whole thing just caught me off guard. I've never had any previous e-mail correspondence with Tovaz, so I found it doubly strange to have gotten the e-mail in the first place.

When I replied to him, he was short and sweet and just said to delete the file. No other explanation was offered.

So, I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions. This is the first time I've ever ran across this type of thing, and I've been around computers for 10 years.

Tovaz I'm sorry if my post gave the impression that you personally sent me the virus. That wasn't my intention.

Russ21Atl: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Or you can just replace all of those with "Never open any executable attachments, no matter who they are from."

And, yes, you'd need to be metaphorically under a rock not to have heard of this virus, one of the most successful of all time. It's been going around for about a month now!

For more comments, see
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum97/HTML/000504.html