I just hit an E-Mail from an unknow source by error and I got the w32.netsky.t@mm virus. It cam as Archive2.pif. Norton finally got it corraled. There were at least 15 E-Mails from unknowns today. Norton has the fix. Put the virus name in Google and it will take you to the site for the fixit.
Jerry
Replies
Jerry
.netsky has been around for awhile now. You should get a virus program that automatically deletes the garbage emails like the one you just got.
If you have a virus program, check your settings.
__________________________________________________________
Michael in San Jose
Freedom from mental disturbance is the very most for which one can hope.
Epicurus (341-270 BCE)
Sbcglobal automatically scans for viruses before their customers receive mail from their mail servers. It will either rip out the offending code or will delete the entire file containing the virus. I have gotten several notices lately from sbcglobal that it has found those viruses and has deleted them before I downloaded the emails. More and more ISP's are enabling their mail servers to do this. You might check with your ISP to see if this is an option.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
I use Norton and it is supposed to scan all of that stuff. That is the way it is set up. I had to disable the Backup utility to get it to find and delete the virus. I have had several other programs in the past and they all seemed to have problems alsom MCaffey just took over my compter and I could not even get on line with it. I have tried so many I guesse I will just stick with what I have.
I use sbcglobal.net for my pop3/smtp servers and it DOES NOT screen my emails for viruses. I have my own domain names instead of [email protected].
I use Symantec's Norton Antivirus and it has caught about thirteen million emails with the .netsky virus in it. Well, maybe a hundred, but it catches alot.__________________________________________________________
Michael in San Jose
Freedom from mental disturbance is the very most for which one can hope.
Epicurus (341-270 BCE)
Oh, your disturbing me menatlly! :)
You aught to call SBC and see if you can get your domain name email included in their virus scan.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
I, too, have Norton. I have auto update enabled and everything that comes into my system is supposed to be scanned. All of the EMails with the virus have a .pif ext. I could not get rid of NetSky using Nortons NetSky fix as it could not find the virus on the drive. Yet it showed up in the scan but the program could not do anything with it. I had to delete EasyAv.exe from the registry then scan it and it fixed it. I am a computer dunce and too trusting. Or was too trusting. My question is why did Norton miss it. It also missed 11 more that came through with this log on.
Jerry
Remember that these programs are not fool proof. Viruses take advantage of some security weakness that exist in the operating system, web browser, or e-mail client. The best way to ward off viruses is to stay current on OS and browser patches & stay current on virus updates. Don't take it for granted that it automatically is updating itself check the dates on your virus definitions file. Viruses can come in many ways not just a pif file. E-mail has become the most common way of transmission of these in recent years. You may want to look at your configuration. By default not all files may being scanned. Your system should check all inbound files prior to opening. For the non technical user I recommend a call to Norton help desk to assist you in checking your configuration out. I use McAfee and scan all files inbound. I also have it configured to scan inbound E-mail,Internet downloads and have full system scan's scheduled for every night.
Also remember that there are hoax viruses out there as well. Those are the ones that come from well meaning friends or family that include the standard warnings about "Send a copy of this E-mail to everyone you know" If you get one of these, you can bet it is a hoax. There are warnings to delete a certain exe file in your windows directory if you find it because it is a virus, these are generally hoaxes as well. Before you follow these directions go to Norton or mcafee's sites and do a search on the topic and it will let you know if it is legitimate. I find that myself as well as my staff (I am in IT) are spending more and more time fighting these things, and the time between the discovery and infection are growing shorter and shorter.
Lots of good advice there bones, but I have to take exception with this statement:
The best way to ward off viruses is to stay current on OS and browser patches & stay current on virus updates.
The problem with this approach is that, as you note later on, the time between the discovery and infection are growing shorter and shorter. Almost none of us are really going to update our AVS quickly enough to avoid each new virus or variant - unless you're either a professional computer user or an O-C paranoid. And as this fellow's experience illustrates, even following this advice does not protect you sometimes.
I'm not sure there is one "best way" to ward off viruses, but here are a few that I think are more effective for the ordinary user:
1. Use an ISP that has its own virus-checking and filtering service. Mine uses Postini. The advantage these confer is that these are pros who are "on the job" 24/7, so they will catch up to new viruses much faster than I will. Postini usually has an effective filter in place before I am even aware of a new virus outbreak - and I need do nothing! (A second advantage is that there is no AVS messing up my system. MacAfee for example was worse than having a virus!)
2. Use an OS that is not so susceptible. Macs, for example. Not sure how secure Linux is. (Here I disregard my own advice - still using a Windows PC - but if you really want to avoid viruses this will help a lot.)
3. Don't use Microsoft Outlook Express as your e-mail reader. Most viruses are specifically written to take advantage of certain "features" of that program. I use Eudora and that alone protects me against 90% of what's out there."Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." A. Einstein
http://www.albionworks.net
I stand by my statement. The best you can do is stay as current as possible and avoid common pitfalls of attachments where possible. There are no magic bullets for this problem. Well maybe one could unplug the thing, stick it in a closet, and never touch it again. That would protect it, but would render it rather useless. Just as wearing a seatbelt is meant to protect you in an accident, there is no guarantee that it will work (there are other analogies that could be used). Nachi was a good example of a virus that if patches were applied in a timely manner, would have been a non event. I say that as a generality not that it could avoid 100 percent of viruses or hacks. Unfortunately this problem is not going to go away, so best of luck and be careful out there (for the old HSB fans).
Bones,
I agree with all that. I just think most people are better off with a virus-catching service at the ISP rather than trying to keep their own AVS updated. The ISPs are usually going to be a lot faster at reacting to new viruses. Even if I updated my AVS daily, I'm still going to be several hours behind the curve, and new viruses are going to get through in that time frame. And the ISPs are less likely to forget, or to put off updating until the weekend, etc...
Of course, either way you still have to educate yourself and remain vigilant. (CONSTANT VIGILANCE! as Mad-eye Moody says.) Virus-infected messages still get past Postini, but they are pretty easy to spot and all you have to do is refrain from opening the attachments. The viruses that use HTML code in the body of the message don't work with Eudora (my e-mail program), so never had a problem there.
I got rid of all my AVS years ago - it was more destructive to my system than most of the viruses - and have not been infected with any virus since.
Too bad we can't "do it to them before they do it to us," as Sgt Yablonski used to admonish. (I miss HSB.) (Who you callin' OLD, anyway? ;-))"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." A. Einstein
http://www.albionworks.net
Get a Mac.
John
John,
I second that!
Although I just heard today of a trojan horse written specifically for OS X. The first of its kind, I guess.
Tim
It's good to know that there are others out there!
John
Jerry, sorry you may have had problems with a virus. While woodworking is a hobby of mine, computers are my livelihood. I strongly recommend that everyone that has a computer connected to the internet do the following:
The internet is a great place to be but it can be very dangerous as well. Someone at my company once told me that I was paranoid and I replied, sir they pay me to be paranoid. Good luck
Edited 4/8/2004 3:58 pm ET by bones
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