VISUAL NEWSLETTER – FEB 2003
KLEZ VIRUS ALERT
There has been a recent rash of new
viruses as well as some new virus hoaxes going around in the last month or so.
Most of the viruses are variations on the W32 Klez virus. This is an Internet
E-mail Worm virus which infects your e-mail system and mails fresh copies of
the virus to everyone on your current address list.
This virus usually comes in as an
attachment with a somewhat cryptic message like:
“LOOK MY NEW GAME, VERY FUN”
It is almost always from a user you
will not recognize. Do not open the attachment or you will infect your
computer. Such e-mails are generally always best deleted immediately if you
don’t recognize the sender or the message in the e-mail sounds somewhat
suspicious. Once deleted, the e-mail will generally end up in your Deleted
Folder.
In many cases this does not rid you of
the virus unless you have instructed your E-mail program to empty your Deleted
folder when you exit the E-mail program. This option can be set in Tools /
Options / Maintenance in Outlook Express. Different E-mail programs may have
this option located elsewhere. Check with your software vendor to determine
where the option is set in your program.
The dangerous feature of this
particular virus is its ability to damage many common anti-virus programs. It
has specific instructions to damage Norton and MacAfee anti-virus programs if
it manages to infect your computer. Since these viruses are re-released with
new disguises every few weeks, it is imperative that you keep your anti-virus
up to date. Internet updates should be scheduled weekly or even daily if
possible. Then the viruses will often be intercepted before they can do any
serious damage to your computer.
NEW VIRUS
HOAXES
Many common
Virus Hoaxes going around may appear to come from a user on your address list.
They sound quite sincere and tell you that you may have been infected by a
virus. The instructions tell you to look for a specific file in Windows and if
you find it delete it ! If you follow these instructions you may
actually disable your computer.
These often
function as chain letters which instruct you to pass on the information to
people on your address list. They often make claims with wording similar to the
following:
“This virus
cannot be detected by either Norton or MacAfee and must be deleted manually
using the following instructions:”
The
equivalent, outside of the computer world, would be a letter instructing you to
open the hood of your car and if you see any black wires, cut them immediately
because they might be connected to a bomb.
Needless to
say, your car won’t start tomorrow if you follow the instructions.
In most cases,
if you follow-up with the user that appears to have sent you the e-mail, they
won’t even be aware of the hoax or they may have been an unwilling participant
in someone’s little technological bad joke.
As long as the
internet remains completely open and relatively unregulated, these sorts of
problems will continue to plague computer users. Your best defence is going to
be a combination of the following items:
1) A
good up to date Anti-Virus program
2) Multi-mode,
Multi-generation backups
3) A
healthy dose of common sense.