Thanks Steve, That is good advice! Especially the part about VERY LONG
filenames with dozens of spaces after the filename but before the file
extension. I have had several sent to me ...
One question for the list, WHAT ABOUT BACKUPS of files? Windows has a backup
utility that if used regularly would make the threat of destructive viruses
much less scary. Why not make a copy of your data and have a "rescue disk"
to get you started on the road to recovery? You can backup to a floppy, a
CDwriter or ZIP...and there are services online that offer it. It is worth
it if you do something stupid like I did and inadvertently double-click on
the wrong email in the list and execute a file that destroys EXE files. Then
of course there was the AOL virus that came from my daughters email! I had
backups though and it was irritating, and I had to clean the viruses using
my Virus Protection but no need to REFORMAT...

A special warning to those of you that are also using cable
modems...especially if you have two or more computers that are NETWORKED you
are a sitting duck. The hackers will find your system. Get FIREWALL
protection(mcafee has one that is worth every cent of $20 cost) Hackers (yes
even in little ole Spartanburg!) can BREAK IN to your computer and then
propagate viruses and God knows what else and you will never know it. There
may not even be any kind of known VIRUS associated with this problem...maybe
just some mysterious VBS files that have appeared on your hard drive or
desktop and a system seems "slow" at times. This is FOR REAL and not a hoax.
Of course the Cable Company(I won't EVEN get started on THEM!) won't tell
you that you are vulnerable unless you call them like I did to ASK.

OK I will step down off the soap box :-) Remember this is Free advice from a
NON expert that is worth what you paid for it!
Lori

----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Coker" 
To: 
Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2001 9:55 PM
Subject: Resources for Virus Information


 Since many newcomers need to know more, here is an Official Off-Topic
> message with some pointers on where to get more information.
>
> First of all, you CAN get a computer virus by opening an attachment to an
> email message.
>
> Attachments that can contain malicious computer instructions (e.g. virus,
> worm, trojan horse, etc.) include files such as MS Word documents (*.doc
or
> *.dot), MS Excel files (*.xl?), Visual Basic files (*.vb?), and any
> executable program (e.g. *.exe, *.com, *.bat).
>
> Filename extensions are the characters after the last period in a filename
> (e.g. *.doc, *.exe, *.vbs, etc.).  If your computer doesn't show you the
> FULL file extensions for ALL filenames, then don't open any attachment
> without first verifying that it is safe.  To be sure what type of files
you
> are opening, always check the full filename extensions before opening the
> file.
>
> You should also learn what types of files do not contain executable
> instructions and are safe to open.  When in doubt, don't open it.
>
> In Windows 98 you can turn on or off filename extension display with the
> VIEW menu "Folder Options" in either Control Panel or Windows Explorer.
>
> For more virus and hoax information see the following sites.
>
> https://support.rootsweb.com/announce.html
> http://www.symantec.com/avcenter
> http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/tools.list.html
> http://www.mcafee.com/anti-virus/
> http://www.ciac.org/ciac/
> http://www.datafellows.com/virus-info/virus-news/
> http://www.antivirus.com/
> http://housecall.antivirus.com/
> http://www.email-software.com/
> http://camalott.com/virus.html
> http://securityportal.com/research/virus/virustop20.html
> http://www.help.com/
>
> http://www.hoaxkill.com/
> http://www.urbanlegends.com
> http://www.mcafee.com/support/hoax.asp
> http://www.datafellows.com/news/hoax.htm
>
>   * * * * *
>
> Steve Coker
> SCRoots Forum Manager
>

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