Hi all: I felt it prudent to pass along a bit of info. about the recent Internet worms (SoBig, etc.). In a previous message, I've implored everyone to keep their virus signature files current. That will protect your PC from attack via e-mail attachments that contain the virus payload. However, that isn't sufficient to protect your home PC. You must also apply the Microsoft patch that plugs the hole in the operating system for what is termed the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) vulnerability. For Windows XP and Windows 2000, that hot fix is KB823980. I don't happen to recall if the patch has other designations for Windows NT, Windows 98 (all flavors). If you don't have the RPC hot fix installed, your PC can be infected whenever you are connected to an ISP. Once infected it starts to run a trojan program (on your PC) that tries to infect other PC's on the network that don't have the RPC hot fix installed. Note, the propigation method for the Internet worm isn't e-mail; it's simply PC to PC communication over the Internet through the RPC vulnerability that may not have been patched. For more detail about how to check to see if your system is vulnerable, refer to the articles at the following web site: www.symantec.com Note, this shouldn't be construed as an endorsement of Symantec (as opposed to McAfee). I don't own any stock in either company. The articles describing the latest worms available at the Symantec site seem well written and understandable, even by those who don't do PC support as a livelyhood. I apologize for the length of this. If anyone has questions, please contact me off-list and I'll try and help. Best regards H.A. Kippenhan, Jr. _________________________________________________________________ Help protect your PC: Get a free online virus scan at McAfee.com. http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963