Klarinet Archive - Posting 000279.txt from 2001/12

From: "Ian Black" <clarinet1@-----.uk>
Subj: [kl] virus warning (and moan)
Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2001 14:00:23 -0500

Tried to send this privately to Jack Kane, but it bounced.

Jack,

If you receive this through klarinet and are not already aware, your PC is
infected with the Badtrans virus. You need to take action.

Soapbox...
I still can't believe that there are people out there who use computers
connected to the internet who are not virus protected. My Norton Antivirus
picked up on this one without any trouble. I'm sure all of the other virus
detection programs would have done too.

Surely the press that some of the recent viruses have had (Melissa, Love
Bug, KAK, Badtrans, Goner) is enough to convince you that the threat is
there?
Surely you're not going to wait until all your data is wiped before deciding
that you should have done something about it earlier?
Surely you wouldn't be happy if someone had control of your PC and was able
to use it as a tool to attack other people's PCs?
Come to think of it, do you have financial or personal information
(passwords for your online banking?) on your PC which you wouldn't be happy
about others reading?

You can protect yourself against compromise and infection by installing (and
regularly updating) virus protection software and a firewall. Neither
product is that expensive, and there are even some free ones available as
download (ZoneAlarm for example).

I certainly don't risk connecting my PC to the internet without such
protection, and I don't understand how some people are seemingly happy to
take these risks. Sorry for the strong post, but it's something I feel
strongly about and it affects all us netizens.

Soapbox ends...

Ian

-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Black [mailto:clarinet1@-----.uk]
Subject: RE: RE: [kl] [C] Last Call for Weston's Clarinet Virtuosi of the
Past

Jack,

You sent me a message with the above subject line. I am unable to read the
message because my virus software identified your message as infected with
W32.Badtrans.B@-----.

It is possible that the virus sent the message to me without your knowledge.
If this is not the case, and you were sending me some information, please
re-send it when you have disinfected your PC.

Details on this virus can be found at http://www.symantec.com/avcenter (the
people behind Norton Antivirus).

May I recommend (if you are not a Mac user) the ZoneAlarm product from
ZoneLabs. www.zonelabs.com . It is a basic personal firewall and is
available for non-commercial use as a free download. May I also recommend
that you install and regularly update a virus scanner. There are some free
ones around on the web, or the best known (certainly in the UK) are Norton
(www.symantec.com) and McAfee (www.mcafee.com).

Regards,

Ian Black

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