Re: Virus attack

[Stefan Jeglinski <jeglin@4PI.COM>]

> I am writing you all to urge, to plead, to beg each of you to acquire
> modern antivirus software; to install it and run it so it provides
> protection 24/7;  and to keep it up-to-date by using its online update
> feature regularly, preferably once a week.  This is not about protecting
> yourself and your system;  this is about protecting everyone else who
> receives your messages and files.  McAfee.  Norton.  Dr Solomon.  F-Prot.
> Buy it, use it.


Sure, but there is no substitute for a simpler approach:

Learn about how computers (and by extension the internet) work.
Virtually all viruses, especially the one described here, can't do
jack-diddly unless they are run by their mindless receivers. The
number of people who just simply execute any old thing that shows up
in their mailbox is truely mind-boggling, as verified by anybody that
does PC support for a living.

I agree that the poster likely did so unintentionally. But I would
also surmise in fact that s/he did so also completely ignorantly.
IOW, no idea whatsoever that it was even happening or how.

If one wants to use a virus program, fine, but to blindly rely on one
is almost as inefficient. The people who work for the companies
listed above would never actually -rely- on their own programs, for
they know how quickly the virus-world evolves. A virus program is
simply an adjunct to common sense.

Obviously, one always has to worry about viruses distributed with
legit software distributions, and similar situations*, but
numbers-wise, these pale in comparison to the number of casual users
who spread viruses because they don't understand their own
computerized mailboxes.



Stefan Jeglinski



*The Melissa virus mechanism, some argue, is legitimately
unavoidable, because of the large number of people who feel compelled
or forced to use the software that enables its propagation. But I
would beg to differ.