viruses, and amiga.org visitors

[mikeymike]

The email address I use solely for amiga.org is getting a hell of a lot of incoming viruses, like 5 an hour, and while I realise that the from addresses are generally spoofed, most of them look like email addresses of people who visit amiga.org.

If you are running Windows, and particularly if you use MS applications for Internet access, or have a penchant for opening all email attachments without appropriate safety measures, UPDATE YOUR VIRUS SCANNER AND PLEASE CHECK YOUR MACHINE FOR VIRUSES!

[mikeymike]

I'm getting about 5 an hour on average.

[mikeymike]

winmail.dat is a specific MS Exchange thing IIRC.

Also, I think the latest virus doing the rounds is down to a few factors:

1> Unpatched, or not properly configured Windows (DCOM vuln) installations

2> Unpatched MS mail clients

3> Idiot users opening email attachments without engaging brain first.

[mikeymike]

@ Doobrey

You'd rather it find something? :-)

Blimey, 45 minutes... presumably that's an 'all files' scan rather than the usual suspects type scan?

One thing I liked about when I used to use Eudora (before moving on to Mozilla) was that it saved attachments to their proper filenames in their own directory.  This makes virus scanning very easy, and not having to fire up the email client in order to find a file someone sent you recently.

[mikeymike]

This is what needs to happen - people need to be educated, in the same way kids are educated 'not to talk to strangers', etc.

And possibly viruses need to become far more catastrophic so that people are more likely to take notice, when every last one of their cherished files go bye-bye*.  Actually, that's strange, isn't it?  Viruses USED TO be far more system-wrecking than they are now...

* - it would be also good from the point of view of me getting more business repairing peoples' systems :-)

[mikeymike]

I take it you`ve never tried to use USB on Windows98 then?

/me watches that one fly over my head...
I've never had any problems with USB on Win98.  Admittedly I don't use USB much.

I see people here blaming the users for allowing the spread of viruses..shouldn`t we look more at why they aren`t educated or aware of howto stop them?

Partly because the primary piece of advice should always be DON'T USE MS APPLICATIONS FOR INTERNET STUFF!  After that, it's "don't open strange attachments you weren't expecting", after that, it's "if in doubt, virus scan it.  With your up-to-date virus scanner".

I can't remember the last time I had to urgently patch my Windows system, because 99% of the patches are for dodgy software or dodgy Windows setups!

What do you get with Windows? a CD and a nice big EULA ! .. no manual, apart from the built in help, but how many new users know that`s there or how to use it?

Heh.  This reminds me of my first experience with Win95.  I couldn't work out how to set up a screen saver.  I consulted the "manual".  The only reference in the Win95 manual regarding screen savers is a single sentence:

"You can set up a screen saver".  And a picture of a screen saver running.

Excellent.

[mikeymike]

Hmmmm I havent got any yet. But then I checked my email on my Amiga SYS B4 it died but now I use YAM with AMIGAFOREVER....I should not be getting viruses with that ....RIGHT

I think I know what you mean, but simply put, an OS running under 68k emulation on an x86 box cannot run x86 binaries :-)

[mikeymike]

Viruses that travel thru email is just a side effect of having a connected world

... a clueless connected world.