Sadly it's time for one of my not very frequent virus alert heads up messages again :-( You only get these from me when the virus is a bad one and this *is* another bad one! Bugbear is the name (or Tanatos if you use Kaspersky anti-virus program) This is being received by many list subscribers NOT FROM ROOTSWEB but with subject lines that look as if that's where it's from. This is because the virus copies messages stored on your PC and adds the virus code to it and then mails them out completely unknown to you - using your ISP's default mail server to send them. You'll be able to tell what they are as the infected messages have a blank or un-named recipient in the To: address rather than the usual Rootsweb list name/address that you see with genuine list mail. They are also much bigger than normal list mail - around 50-70kb. To see Kaspersky's description of this one see here: http://www.kav.ch/avpve/worms/email/tanatos.stm for MacAfee users see here: http://vil.mcafee.com/dispVirus.asp?virus_k=99728 for Norton users read here: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.bugbear@mm.html This is a particularly nasty virus on several counts - firstly it knocks out your anti-virus program and your firewall if you have one. It *also* prevents you from reinstalling your anti-virus - it is network aware so will spread to any other PC via a network (e.g. if you have 2 PC's and share an internet connection between them etc). It *also* - as if that wasn't enough - contains a remote access trojan which steals information such as passwords, credit card details etc from files on your PC. Since this was launched yesterday I've received around 30 copies from infected list subscribers so the chances of you receiving a copy from an infected person are HIGH! The major anti-virus companies have released protection for this TODAY so if you've not done so already, please update your a/v programs NOW and protect yourself. If you don't have an a/v program then all the major ones do evaluation copies that'll protect you for up to 30 days - and the cost of them is so reasonable now that it's plain daft not to be protected. There are free a/v progs too - www.grisoft.com offers one - but these are sometimes slower to update their a/v definitions so may not offer quite so much protection against brand new viruses. For a free firewall check out http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp As ever, if you need any further advice/info about this please contact me OFFLIST and I'll be happy to help if I can. Also, please no discussion about viruses onlist - send to me offlist only, thanks! Hope you all manage to escape this one, best wishes, -- Cheers, Anne mailto:docwras@yahoo.co.uk Rootsweb ListOwner: Dockery, Dockray, Dockree, Docwra, Hampson, Schofield Rootsweb Message Board Admin: Chandler, Dockerill, Dockery, Dockray, Dockree, Dockrey, Dockrill, Docwra, Hampson The Docwra Family Research Project http://resource.at/docwra Archive CD Books - a user-supported project to make old & rare books easily available to genealogists & historians worldwide http://www.archivecdbooks.org