OT: Virus alert!
#3
  Re: (...)
I got a warning from someone I trust implicitly that there is a new computer virus circulating. It will arrive in the form of an e-mail from your contact list, with the title POSTCARD FROM HALLMARK. Do not open it. There is no patch or known protection from it. Here is what I received:

I re-checked this with Snopes, just in case. It is for real, so
>>> beware!!
>>>
>>> Has been checked out at Snopes; is very
>>> real. http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/postcard.asp
>>> Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus!
>>> I checked Snopes (URL aboveSmile, and it is for real!!
>>>
>>> Get this E-mail message sent around to your contacts ASAP.
>>> PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS!
>>> You should be alert during the next few days.
>>>
>>> Do not open any message with an attachment entitled 'POSTCARD FROM
>>> HALLMARK,' regardless of who sent it to you. It is a virus which
opens A
>>> POSTCARD IMAGE, which 'burns' the whole hard disc C of your
computer.
>>> This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail
address in
>>> his/her contact list. This is the reason why you need to send this
>>> e-mail to all your contacts It is better to receive this message 25
>>> times than to receive the virus and open it.
>>>
>>> If you receive a mail called' POSTCARD,' even though sent to you by
a
>>> friend, do not open it! Shut down your computer immediately.
>>> This is the worst virus announced by CNN. It has been classified by
>>> Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was
discovered
>>> by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of
virus.
>>> This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where
the
>>> vital information is kept.
>>
>>
> Sally
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#4
  Re: OT: Virus alert! by lxxf (I got a warning from...)
Bottom line: always examine your email carefully. If you receive an attachment from someone, take the following steps:
  1. If the email is from someone you do not know, delete the message.
  2. If the email is from someone you DO know, contact that person to find out if he or she really did, intentionally, send you an email with an attachment, and what you should expect it to be.
  3. If the supposed sender does not know about having sent an attachment, delete the message and tell your friend to do a virus scan using up-to-date virus definitions. Your friend may not even have been the one to send the virus, since the actual virus may be running on the computer of someone you and your friend BOTH know. Viruses often use the address book of an infected machine in order to choose not only where to send more copies of the virus, but also an email to use as a fake sender, so it is possible that neither you nor your friend have the virus, but that a mutual friend does, instead.
  4. If your friend really DID, knowingly, send you the attachment, do NOT just open it up right away. Instead, SAVE it to your computer, then run a virus scan on it BEFORE you open it.

The warning message you received actually contains SOME information about a real virus, but the message, as a WHOLE, is a HOAX. The whole bit about "This is the worst virus announced by CNN, etc." is completely FALSE, as is the bit about the hard disk.

The Snopes link given in the "warning," is used to make people THINK that the entire warning is valid, but the warning is actually part of the "Invitation virus" hoax, and Snopes has information about that here, as well as having changed the page to which the "warning's" link points to show the fraudulent text which you duplicated in your message, above.

It would probably be best NOT to disseminate this hoax any further, but to send accurate, common-sense suggestions such as I have outlined above.
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