Please Read

[seabee]

Hey guys,

I know this is suppose to be camping stuff, but I thought I would let you know about this. I just got this notice from my supervisor at the company I work for....

Subject: Fwd: Big Virus coming PLEASE READ








http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/postcard.asp
Hi All, I checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus!

I checked Snopes (URL above, and it is for real!!

Get this E-mail message sent around to your contacts ASAP.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS!

You should be alert during the next few days. Do not open any message with an attachment entitled 'POSTCARD,' regardless of who sent it to you. It is a virus which opens A POSTCARD IMAGE, which 'burns' the whole hard disc C of your computer.
This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list. This is the reason why you need to send this e-mail to all your contacts It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it.

If you receive a mail called' POSTCARD,' even though sent to you by a friend, do not open it! Shut down your computer immediately.

This is the worst virus announced by CNN. It has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept.

COPY THIS E-MAIL, AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS. REMEMBER: IF YOU SEND IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US.

Snopes lists all the names it could come in.

 

[PolynesianPixie]

Crazy! Thanks for letting us know! Can you imagine how slow the Dis would be if you didn't warn us???? Scary!

 

[VACAMPER]

Thanks for the warning!

 

[kc5grw]

This is not entirely correct. True there is a Postcard trojan out there, but it does not destroy your hard drive. It sets up your PC as a peer in a peer-to-peer network to enable denial of service attacks and spam delivery without you knowing.

The part about this killing your hard drive is a hoax and is discussed on the McAfee website here: http://us.mcafee.com/virusInfo/default.asp?id=description&virus_k=98893.

 

[des1954]

Many thanks!!! I'll be on the lookout!!

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I don't mean to downplay this, and certainly I would encourage anyone to be on the lookout for this virus, but these stories pop up regularly and spread around the internet frequently. They usually start with some seed of truth and then expand as well meaning people spread the word to their friends. My sister in law freaks out over these things regularly, so I am usually bombarded with emails from her warning me of impending disaster from the "worst virus the computer world has ever seen." I would suggest that, as a matter of routine, everyone keep their antivirus software up to date, scan incoming emails and do routine system scans. Also, delete any suspicious emails from anyone prior to opening. I expect when I go back to the hospital on Monday, my inbox will be full of warnings about this virus from all the nervous nurses, secretaries, and other docs.

 

[Rhonda]

This particular warning has been circulating the Web for about a year now. I'm going to close this, but I won't delete it because the "postcard" email part of it is true. I have received quite a few of these over the past few months.

Thanks!