Handicapping Spam

[andicap]

Yesterday I got two emails in my box from "Bob Purdy" and "HANDICAPPER."
Neither had a note, just an attachment.

One attachment read ffh.sec
the other read lypec.pif (Purdy's)

The one from "HANDICAPPER" said "hello, andygr, congratulations" on the subject line.
Purdy's just said "Your password."

I never open attachments from people i don't know or that I didn't ask for.
Anyone else get this crap and what the hell is it?

I sent them both nasty notes about sending out spam.

I have heard of Bob Purdy and I presume the note had something to do with synergism, but that is NOT the way go about marketing it. If he wants me to try Synergism, just send me a nice text note explaining what he's doing.

[JimG]

Andy,

I had a virus on my PC and Bob Purdy is in my address list. The note was a virus and you smartly did not open it. I have since cleaned my PC and it is ok now.

I am sure Purdy did not send you SPAM. It was a function of this nasty virus. It is known as the Klez virus.


Jim

[Tom]

NEVER open attchments unless you are expecting them, and you are still not completely safe. ALWAYS update and run your anti-virus software regularly. Microsoft doesn't have security on its list of the to 1,000 things that software needs and if you use micro-s**t product, you are open to problems.
Here's something I did not know, but i heard it on the local computer help tV show last night.
When you go to a web page and get that "Can't be found" screen, don't use your back button to get of it. When you hit this screen, MS puts you into something called a safe zone, and don't ask me the technical logic here, but if you use the back button, you stay in this zone and are severley vunerable. Pick a favorite and get out that way. Whether this is true with all brwsers, I don't know, but i thought it was at least worth mentioning 'cause the fix is free.

[ranchwest]

In addition to a virus protection program, I suggest using a firewall. I use the software firewall Zone Alarm, the free version. There's also a pro version and there's other software that is similar.

[andicap]

Yeah, I have Norton A-V, but I should use Zone Alarm. Doesn't it use up a bit of memory. I need to upgrade to 256 RAM.

QUESTION: Is there a utility I can get that will help manage my memory better?

[ranchwest]

I don't find Zone Alarm to be a memory hog, but I haven't actually investigated it. I've only got 64 Mg memory on a P450. Like almost any Windows program, it seems to need to be rebooted every two or three days.

[Tom]

Originally posted by andicap


QUESTION: Is there a utility I can get that will help manage my memory better?


I've heard that fish is a good brain food!
~G~

[GameTheory]

Try "RamIdle" -- if nothing else it will give you an idea when it is time to reboot.

http://www.tweaknow.com/


I've never had any memory problems whatsoever with ZoneAlarm -- seems very lean, and is an absolute must on a broadband connection.

By the way, you can be given viruses just VISITING a web page, so make sure you've got virus protection as well. Some ISP's can enable virus protection on the mail server -- it is all scanned even before it reaches you. Sometimes I get notices like, "This email was a virus, but it has been deleted." (I run a website that is popular internationally, so I get lots of viruses in the mail -- it is actually kind of fun to watch them go around the world. First I get it from Germany a few times, then from Spain, then to the U.S., etc...) Oh yeah, and don't use MS Outlook -- most email viruses are specifically targeted to exploit that.

[Dick Schmidt]

Andy et al.

I just spoke with Bob Purdy and apparently he is part of a growing wave of people infected by a "worm" virus. It seems to be able to open your mail list and send itself on to everyone on your list WITHOUT your opening the attachment. If you do open the attachment, you infect your computer with a very nasty virus. The "Here's your password" message is just one of several that the worm uses. Others are "A note from grandpa" and the "Hello, congratulations" message you got.

I use both Norton AV and Zone Alarm with no problem. They don't use much memory and are well worth it. Be sure to update your virus list from Norton frequently. A new virus can spread with the speed of lightning, skipping around the world. Bob not only sent (apparently) about 250 e-mails containing the worm, he got back about 40 so far, some from people not on his list. He said to tell everyone he is sorry, but that the work came and did its thing before he was awake.

Be careful out there.

Dick

[tedwin]

I also got both of those emails as well as a third one purportedly from someone named "simulcap". DIdn't open any of them and was certain that Bob Purdy would not send email to anyone in that manner.

[Dave Schwartz]

I got them as well and they all contained the virus I referenced in another thread.

Dave

[kitts]

Well, now. I use Netscape (I imagine I am the only one here that does) and I am on a lot of horseplayer email lists and I know Bob Purdy and several of the folks here. I have Black Ice firewall and Norton AV which I update every Sunday night. And I escaped this epidemic and I betcha MSIE was the culprit!