Hello subscribers, First let me apologize in advance to those of you on more than one of the lists that I administer for the inevitable duplication, as I am sending this message to all of the lists that I admin. Second, importantly, please DO *NOT* REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE in any way that will cause the reply to go to the list; be especially careful if the list in question is one where the replies go back to the list by default (I have included an overriding Reply-To address here in this message in the hopes that this won't be an issue). We want to stick to genealogy as much as possible on the list, not get sidetracked. For further information, contact me PRIVATELY at [email protected] Better yet, check your online antivirus resources. Please DO *NOT* REPORT VIRUS ACTIVITY to the list under any circumstances. Contact me personally. I will deal with the situation as circumstances warrant. I am loathe to give out virus warnings, for all sorts of reasons. However, there is a new virus (actually a worm, for the technically minded) that can *APPEAR* to be closely connected to a mailing list. It is called BadTrans.B and I have received probably 10 or 15 infected messages over the last two days. Some have been from subscribers to a list I admin while others came from elsewhere. Here is how to recognize Badtrans.B: 1. The "from" address begins with an underscore or space, e.g. "<[email protected]>" or "< [email protected]>" but is otherwise an address you might recognize as genuine. 2. The "subject" may be taken from a message you sent to either an individual or a mailing list. It might however be limited to just "Re: ". 3. There is no *visible* content or attachment. Here is what to do: 1. Make sure you have updated your antivirus *software* since November 24, 2001.** 2. Make sure you have updated your antivirus *definitions* since November 24, 2001.** 3. Make sure you are running your antivirus software at all times. This used to be optional, a matter of personal preference. It is no longer either, for responsible netizens. 4. Do *NOT* send a warning to the list. If you believe it might be helpful, send me a message *privately*. **Note: if you have an automatic update function in your antivirus program, it will take care of all this for you. No virus is currently capable of passing through a RootsWeb list. However, BadTrans.B makes it *APPEAR* that this is happening, and uses list messages as a source for new targets. Therefore, as list admin I need to act in certain situations. Here is what I will do if a subscriber to one of my lists is infected: 1. I will unsubscribe the address. 2. I will contact the infected subscriber to explain what has been done and to offer assistance. 3. On reasonable assurance from the subscriber that the bug has been cleaned from the subscriber's PC, I will resubscribe the address. Remember, infected subscribers are victims, not evil people. However, with reasonable precautions taken we can all help to limit the spread of such bugs. -- Thanks, Mary Taffet, List Admin [This message was adapted from a message sent by another list admin (Darrell Martin) to his own lists; I have received permission to use it as the basis for my own message. Thanks Darrell!]