Saturday, November 6, 2010

Virus alert

I just received this virus alert from a friend.  Snopes confirms it as accurate.
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Serious Virus Alert - Urgent

This information arrived this morning, direct from both Microsoft  and Norton... Please send it to everybody you know who has access to the Internet.

You may receive an apparently harmless e-mail titled, *Here you have it*.  If you open the file, a message will appear on your screen saying: 'It is too late now, your life is no longer beautiful....'               

Subsequently you will LOSE EVERYTHING IN YOUR PC, And the person  who originated it will gain access to your Name, e-mail and password.

This is a new virus which started to circulate in September.  On September 9th,  an advisory was noted by the US-CERT (United States  Computer Emergency Readiness Team).
              
AOL has already confirmed the severity, and the anti virus  softwares are not capable of destroying it. The virus has been created by a hacker who calls himself 'life owner'.               

PLEASE SEND A COPY OF THIS E-MAIL TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS, and ask them to PASS IT ON IMMEDIATELY!

*THIS HAS BEEN CONFIRMED BY SNOPES.*       http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/hereyouhave.asp

11 comments:

  1. Thanks for the heads-up!

    Desert Bird

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  2. Why anyone would even open an email from anyone not known to you is beyond me. When anyone would then click a link in such an email is not beyond me. They are imbeciles.

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  3. Well, tickmeister, usually the virus hacks your friends' e-mail address so the e-mail appears to come from someone known to you. That's why. Since you're so brilliant, I'm surprised you don't know that.

    Heather

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  4. I have been using the always free Linux Ubuntu....NEVER have to worry about virus's again!! Why pay in my mind to have a operating system that is vulnerable....anywho my 3 cents today!

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  5. I am going to spread a virus by attaching it to an email with the subject "Virus Alert"

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  6. Won't be opening that one either Anon 1:12PM.

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  7. Heather, I do know that. I did not claim brilliance, but thanks. I do however have a lick of common sense. I have gotten those emails from friends, I did not click the links, and I did not aquire the virus. Most of them are obvious, but I will never click a link in an email without a phone call to be sure it is valid. Go ye and do likewise and ye shall live unstained by the viri.

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  8. WOW!! All this umbrage over a virus alert. What will you folks do when a terror alert comes over the radio? Sheesh.

    Corisa, just the other day I was reading about that free Linux system. According to the author of the article (which I cannot remember right now because I read too many things online), Linux has a rather lenghy learning curve for most people, but once it's learned it is virtually worry-free. Did you find that true for you? I'd surely like to try it, I've been hit with viruses (I guess that makes me an imbecile) many times when surfing the web and once when opening an email with a friend's URL.

    Whether you're brilliant or an imbecile like me, I hope nobody gets that virus. Why do people have to be so hateful that they create viruses? I don't undertand that type of mindset at all.

    Anonymous Patriot
    USA

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  9. Ok, so there is a virus with this name, but the warning above just plugged that name into an old hoax. No, Snopes DOESN'T confirm it, Patrice, as indicated by the update near the bottom of the article. Honestly, I find it surprising that you didn't actually read it instead of looking for the red/green button at the top of the page and assuming that this was the great arbiter of truth in the matter. You are generally more thoughtful and thorough.

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  10. We've received several virus warnings like this one over the years and almost all of them have been bogus. As for Snopes, it's not always right, either. That doesn't mean we don't take precautions, though. What always makes me suspect is when the alert says something like: "AOL has already confirmed the severity of this virus and THE ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARES AREN'T CAPABLE OF DESTROYING IT." Baloney. If that were the case, why bother even having virus protection? Besides, I know how my friends and relatives write their e-mails, so if I get one that doesn't fit their style and if no one had told me about any "document," that e-mail is getting deleted. And Heather, was the sarcasm directed toward "tickmeister" really necessary? Lots of nice people can be heard from here. Maybe the tickster shouldn't have referred to anyone as an "imbecile," but two wrongs don't make a right.

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  11. Here's what About.com/Urban Legends says about this virus:

    Analysis: This message contains a mixture of true and false information. Antivirus providers confirm there's an actual computer virus (or "worm," more properly) dubbed "Here You Have" because it downloads itself via links in emails with that title.

    Contrary to what's claimed above, however, it does not circulate as an attached file, nor will downloading it cause you to "lose everything in your PC" or your personal information to be transmitted to the author of the malicious program.

    What it does do, should your PC become infected, is attempt to disable your antivirus protection and send copies of the email to everyone in your address book. Symantec offers a removal tool and technical information here.

    The false information about the virus appears to have been copied from a hoax circulating since 2002.

    This should go without saying, but it's worth repeating for good measure: Never click on links in unsolicited emails or open unknown file attachments unless you're reasonably sure they're legitimate. This is how most computer viruses are transmitted.

    'Nuff said!

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