Periodically, on the Lists I manage, I run this announcement, due to the fact that many of our subscribers will be in the "newbie" category, here's a timely warning/reminder. Virus warning messages are from time to time sent to mailing lists by "newbies". ("Newbie" is not a derogatory term; it merely means that a subscriber/user is new to the Web/Net and Mailing Lists, and hasn't learned all the "ins and outs" yet.) This is directly against Rootsweb policy. PLEASE, if you get a Virus warning, pass it "off list" to me as List owner first. I will then deal with it according to the nature of the beastie. (My personal email address is: sgtgeorg@concentric.net) Here is a compilation of what some web sites have to say about viruses, and also provides an unbiased set of links to sites for anti-virus programs; sites explaining viruses, hoaxes, Trojans, etc.; and sites for descriptions of specific viruses, hoaxes, and Trojans. ********************************************************* Unfortunately viruses - and their distant cousin, Trojan Horse programs - are likely to become more of an issue as Internet connectivity spreads. Computer viruses are real. They do exist, and they can cause damage to your computer as well as the loss of data. While many computer and Internet users will never encounter a computer virus, this is fast becoming largely a matter of luck. In years past, computer viruses depended on human intervention to spread - users would unwittingly copy an infected file from a friend's floppy disk onto their computer. Because this limited the potential for propagation, virus outbreaks were generally pretty easy to contain. But now we have the Internet, which connects millions of computers around the globe. Infected files can be downloaded from Web sites, transmitted via email, posted to newsgroups, and passed on using "buddy" programs, like ICQ. All computer users should be proactive in protecting themselves against these "Net nasties". This means installing anti-virus software, and USING it to check all incoming program and data files, including email attachments. Most anti-virus programs will now automatically scan all files (whether copied from disk or over the Internet) for viruses and trojan horse programs. Users should also educate themselves about the risks involved, and what steps can be taken to minimize them. Please keep in mind that when you receive any kind of "warning", that an Email CAN NOT infect your system. An attachment to an Email CAN cause damage IF you execute ("run") the program file. If you receive an attached file to an Email, and that file has an extension of .exe, .com, .doc, etc., you should NEVER run that file before you have checked it out with your anti-virus program. As an example, users may receive HAPPY99.EXE as an attachment to an Email. No harm is done UNTIL the recipient activates HAPPY99.EXE; then all he/she sees is a very pretty fireworks display, meant to celebrate New Years of 1999. Unbeknownst to the user, when the fireworks were being displayed, the program contaminated his/her system. DON'T EVER RUN AN .EXE FILE RECEIVED AS AN ATTACHMENT, UNTIL YOU HAVE CHECKED IT OUT WITH AN ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAM !!!!! Anti-Virus Software Windows: Vet Anti-Virus - https://www.vet.com.au/html/shop/ or http://www.vet.com.au/ McAfee Virus Scan - http://www.mcafee.com Norton AntiVirus - http://www.symantec.com/nav/index.html PC-cillin - http://www.antivirus.com/pc-cillin/default.htm Antiviral Toolkit Pro - http://www.centralcommand.com F-Secure - http://www.data-fellows.com eSafe Protect - http://www.esafe.com Mac: Dr Solomon's Virex - http://www.drsolomon.com/products/virex/index.cfm Norton Anti-Virus for Mac - http://www.symantec.com/nav/nav_mac/ Virus Information: About Viruses - http://antivirus.about.com Virus Bulletin - http://www.virusbtn.com McAfee Virus Information Centre - http://www.mcafee.com/centers/anti-virus/ GeoCities/SiliconValley Antivirus Page - http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/3652/F.HTM Dept. of Energy Official Virus Site - http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/ Hoax "viruses", Trojans, Myths, etc.- ICSA Hoax List - http://www.icsa.net/services/consortia/anti-virus/alerthoax.shtml Lists of Myths, Hoaxes, etc. - http://www.spcug.org/hoax.htm Funny as well as serious, Urban Legends - http://www.snopes.com/ Alphabetized List of Virus Hoaxes and Descriptions - http://www.datafellows.fi/vir-info/index.htm#search Dept of Energy Official Site - http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/ Hoax Killer Site - http://www.hoaxkill.com/ Urban Legends and Hoaxes- http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/library/blhoax.htm Virus Hoax Site - http://kumite.com/myths/home.html Miller Free Beer Hoax - http://www.millerbrewing.com/ Microsoft Email Hoax - http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/hoax/05-13hoax.htm Missing Child Hoax - http://snopes.simplenet.com/spoons/faxlore/missingkd.htm (There are hundreds more of these hoaxes, e.g., Sending business cards to a child for a new kidney, Sending email to a hospitalized child for free surgery, The Neiman Marcus "Chocolate Cake" hoax, "Stolen Kidneys" hoax, and so on.) Individual Recent "Warnings": PrettyPark Work Worm: http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/prettypark.worm.html BackDoor-G Trojan - http://www.avertlabs.com/public/datafiles/valerts/vinfo/va10182.asp Melissa Virus Help Center - http://www.download.com/DD/dl/0,302,0-0406-1-006,00.html Happy99.exe - http://members.tripod.com/docsmiley/happy99.htm Happy99.exe - http://beta.nai.com/public/datafiles/valerts/vinfo/w32ska.asp Happy99.exe - http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/happy99.worm.html Happy99.exe - http://www.datafellows.com/v-descs/ska.htm Happy99.exe - http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/3652/SKA.HTM Security Portal - http://securityportal.com One last word, if you receive a "warning" about a new Virus, Trojan, etc., that will blow out your monitor, explode your speakers, physically trash your hard drive, burn out your sound card or video card, etc., simply ignore it !!!!! Neither a Virus or a Trojan can cause PHYSICAL damage to your system. When you see an email with these dire warnings, you can rest assured it is a HOAX. There ARE some nasty viruses out there that attempt to do things to the BIOS on your system, but IF you use a good Anti-Virus program on your system, you will be safe. Use a program that runs in the background in Windows, one that you configure to check out EVERY file downloaded, whether via email or from a web site or FTP site. Also configure it to check EVERY executable file every time it is run on your system, and to check every file if it is modified, copied, or moved. It is your choice as to which program you prefer, but I have personally found that McAfee's Scan is the most reliable, uses fewer system resources and less memory than some other programs. Plus Scan has never caused conflicts on my system. Some of the other programs DO cause serious conflicts on SOME systems. IT'S YOUR CHOICE !!!!! ********************************************************* Regards, SgtGeorge George W. Durman Knoxville, TN