"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 1 Feb 2006 09:33:44 -0500, " JimH" jimh_osudad@yahooDOT
comREMOVETHIS wrote:


"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 01 Feb 2006 12:22:50 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


" JimH" jimh_osudad@yahooDOT comREMOVETHIS wrote in message
news:Kr2dnUawZPcbiH3enZ2dnUVZ_vmdnZ2d@comcast. com...

"Don White" wrote in message
...
JimH wrote:
==========================
The clock is ticking on a dangerous computer virus programmed to
delete
millions of Word files stored on PCs when it reaches the end of its
countdown on Friday.

Experts have warned that the Blackworm virus, which has also been
named
Blackmal, Nyxem, MyWife and Tearec, could destroy vast amounts of
information when it is triggered, and could send unprotected
businesses
into chaos. The malicious software strikes against machines powered
by
Microsoft's near-ubiquitous Windows software.

According to SANS, the US-based internet security organisation, by
January 26 around 300,000 computer systems, made up of potentially
millions of individual PCs, had already been infected by the virus.
The
organisation said: "This worm is different and more serious than
other
worms for a number of reasons. In particular, it will overwrite a
user's
files on February 3."

The list of file-types that the virus will hit and delete includes
the
most commonly-used formats, including Word, Powerpoint and Excel
documents.
===================================

More at http://tinyurl.com/at299
Looks like the anti-virus people need more cash.

I use Avast. It is free and updates the virus definitions daily
automatically.

AVG is also a very good antivirus program........also free.

No need to purchase an antivirus program these days.

What is your backup strategy?

more free software?

How is the antivirus program you paid for better than a free copy of Avast
or AVG Tom? What program is it that you purchased and like so much?

i didnt say anything about being better. im very glad that you are
confident enough in free antivirus software to use it.

more people should use free software - i mean its free - dont have to
contribute a dime right?

frees for me kind of thing?

good for you - more people should do like you do.

Yes they should. Just because it is free does not mean it is crap, and
certainly not in the case of the 2 *free* AV programs I mentioned.

Go ahead and throw your money away if it makes you feel better. I am glad
more people do not do like you do.

JimH wrote:
"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 1 Feb 2006 09:33:44 -0500, " JimH" jimh_osudad@yahooDOT
comREMOVETHIS wrote:


"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
. ..
On Wed, 01 Feb 2006 12:22:50 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


" JimH" jimh_osudad@yahooDOT comREMOVETHIS wrote in message
news:Kr2dnUawZPcbiH3enZ2dnUVZ_vmdnZ2d@comcast. com...

"Don White" wrote in message
...
JimH wrote:
==========================
The clock is ticking on a dangerous computer virus programmed to
delete
millions of Word files stored on PCs when it reaches the end of its
countdown on Friday.

Experts have warned that the Blackworm virus, which has also been
named
Blackmal, Nyxem, MyWife and Tearec, could destroy vast amounts of
information when it is triggered, and could send unprotected
businesses
into chaos. The malicious software strikes against machines powered
by
Microsoft's near-ubiquitous Windows software.

According to SANS, the US-based internet security organisation, by
January 26 around 300,000 computer systems, made up of potentially
millions of individual PCs, had already been infected by the virus.
The
organisation said: "This worm is different and more serious than
other
worms for a number of reasons. In particular, it will overwrite a
user's
files on February 3."

The list of file-types that the virus will hit and delete includes
the
most commonly-used formats, including Word, Powerpoint and Excel
documents.
===================================

More at http://tinyurl.com/at299
Looks like the anti-virus people need more cash.

I use Avast. It is free and updates the virus definitions daily
automatically.

AVG is also a very good antivirus program........also free.

No need to purchase an antivirus program these days.

What is your backup strategy?

more free software?

How is the antivirus program you paid for better than a free copy of Avast
or AVG Tom? What program is it that you purchased and like so much?

i didnt say anything about being better. im very glad that you are
confident enough in free antivirus software to use it.

more people should use free software - i mean its free - dont have to
contribute a dime right?

frees for me kind of thing?

good for you - more people should do like you do.

Yes they should. Just because it is free does not mean it is crap, and
certainly not in the case of the 2 *free* AV programs I mentioned.

Go ahead and throw your money away if it makes you feel better. I am glad
more people do not do like you do.

AVG is considered one of the best out there.

Reggie Smithers wrote:
wrote:
Reggie Smithers wrote:
JimH wrote:
==========================
The clock is ticking on a dangerous computer virus programmed to delete
millions of Word files stored on PCs when it reaches the end of its
countdown on Friday.

Experts have warned that the Blackworm virus, which has also been named
Blackmal, Nyxem, MyWife and Tearec, could destroy vast amounts of
information when it is triggered, and could send unprotected businesses into
chaos. The malicious software strikes against machines powered by
Microsoft's near-ubiquitous Windows software.

According to SANS, the US-based internet security organisation, by January
26 around 300,000 computer systems, made up of potentially millions of
individual PCs, had already been infected by the virus. The organisation
said: "This worm is different and more serious than other worms for a number
of reasons. In particular, it will overwrite a user's files on February 3."

The list of file-types that the virus will hit and delete includes the most
commonly-used formats, including Word, Powerpoint and Excel documents.
===================================

More at http://tinyurl.com/at299


Here is a removal tool. Since the worm "turns off" your antivirus
software, it makes sense for everyone to run a specific removal tool.

http://securityresponse.symantec.com...oval.tool.html


--
Reggie
************************************************** *************
That's my story and I am sticking to it.

************************************************** *************

Reggie, from what I understand, if your Norton or other popular
software is up to date, it will catch it before it turns off your
anitvirus software.

Bassy,
If you were infected before your antivirus included blackmal in it's
database you could still be infected. Since no one will know until 2/3
it is a simply strategy to run the removal tool.

Ah, got it! Thanks

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
On Wed, 1 Feb 2006 10:44:26 -0500, " JimH" jimh_osudad@yahooDOT
comREMOVETHIS wrote:

"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 1 Feb 2006 09:33:44 -0500, " JimH" jimh_osudad@yahooDOT
comREMOVETHIS wrote:

"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 01 Feb 2006 12:22:50 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

" JimH" jimh_osudad@yahooDOT comREMOVETHIS wrote in message
. ..
"Don White" wrote in message
...
JimH wrote:
==========================
The clock is ticking on a dangerous computer virus programmed to
delete
millions of Word files stored on PCs when it reaches the end of its
countdown on Friday.

Experts have warned that the Blackworm virus, which has also been
named
Blackmal, Nyxem, MyWife and Tearec, could destroy vast amounts of
information when it is triggered, and could send unprotected
businesses
into chaos. The malicious software strikes against machines powered
by
Microsoft's near-ubiquitous Windows software.

According to SANS, the US-based internet security organisation, by
January 26 around 300,000 computer systems, made up of potentially
millions of individual PCs, had already been infected by the virus.
The
organisation said: "This worm is different and more serious than
other
worms for a number of reasons. In particular, it will overwrite a
user's
files on February 3."

The list of file-types that the virus will hit and delete includes
the
most commonly-used formats, including Word, Powerpoint and Excel
documents.
===================================

More at http://tinyurl.com/at299
Looks like the anti-virus people need more cash.
I use Avast. It is free and updates the virus definitions daily
automatically.

AVG is also a very good antivirus program........also free.

No need to purchase an antivirus program these days.
What is your backup strategy?
more free software?
How is the antivirus program you paid for better than a free copy of Avast
or AVG Tom? What program is it that you purchased and like so much?
i didnt say anything about being better. im very glad that you are
confident enough in free antivirus software to use it.

more people should use free software - i mean its free - dont have to
contribute a dime right?

frees for me kind of thing?

good for you - more people should do like you do.
Yes they should. Just because it is free does not mean it is crap, and
certainly not in the case of the 2 *free* AV programs I mentioned.

Go ahead and throw your money away if it makes you feel better. I am glad
more people do not do like you do.

i dont consider it throwing it away at all.

im perfectly comfortable using symantec and i have for years - why
change? you are perfectly comfortable using a freebie - why change.

no worries. if somebody offers something for free, and it works,
thats a good thing. its just not something i trust.

i believe in the TANSTAAFL model - you dont.

no worries - to each their own.

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

--
Reggie
************************************************** *************
That's my story and I am sticking to it.

************************************************** *************

"Reggie Smithers" wrote in message
...

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

--
Reggie


Because I am currently bored, I tried that Microsoft SafetyLine link that
someone (JimH?) provided (thanks). I did the full scan doober (took a
while) and it reported my computer was fine, no viruses, no screwed up
files, no de-frag required. Everything is just hunky-dorey.

What's interesting to me is I have never, in all the years I've had a
computer and been on-line used any kind of anti-virus, anti-spyware,
anti-anything software. The only thing protecting this computer from the
cold, hard world is whatever firewall Microsoft uses in XP and whatever my
ISP firewall is. I tell people this and they are horrified - and they
advise me I am going to get hacked, mutilated, screwed and all kinds of
horrible things.
To date (knocking on wood) nothing has ever happened. In fact, the only
problem I encountered with this computer was after Microsoft did one of
those automatic updates, which I didn't know it was going to do until I shut
the computer off one day and it told me to wait while some updates where
installed. The next day I could not connect to our house Wireless router.
I did a "recover" back to a date just prior to the update installation and
everything has been fine ever since. After that experience, I shut off the
automatic update option as well.

My wife, the worry wart, has all kinds of anti-bad stuff installed on her
computer and she is constantly having crashes and problems. Norton seems to
be the biggest culprit.

The way I figure it, I just can't allow myself to worry and get paranoid
about a stupid computer. If I get a virus and it breaks - I'll take it to a
computer repair place and let them clean it up. If, in the unlikely event
the computer is totally trashed - I'll decide if I really want a new one. I
am very careful not to store anything of any importance on the computer.

So, has all this hacking and virus stuff been over emphasized to sell
protection software, or have I just been lucky for the last 15 years?

RCE

RCE wrote:
"Reggie Smithers" wrote in message
...


"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

--
Reggie



Because I am currently bored, I tried that Microsoft SafetyLine link that
someone (JimH?) provided (thanks). I did the full scan doober (took a
while) and it reported my computer was fine, no viruses, no screwed up
files, no de-frag required. Everything is just hunky-dorey.

What's interesting to me is I have never, in all the years I've had a
computer and been on-line used any kind of anti-virus, anti-spyware,
anti-anything software. The only thing protecting this computer from the
cold, hard world is whatever firewall Microsoft uses in XP and whatever my
ISP firewall is. I tell people this and they are horrified - and they
advise me I am going to get hacked, mutilated, screwed and all kinds of
horrible things.
To date (knocking on wood) nothing has ever happened. In fact, the only
problem I encountered with this computer was after Microsoft did one of
those automatic updates, which I didn't know it was going to do until I shut
the computer off one day and it told me to wait while some updates where
installed. The next day I could not connect to our house Wireless router.
I did a "recover" back to a date just prior to the update installation and
everything has been fine ever since. After that experience, I shut off the
automatic update option as well.

My wife, the worry wart, has all kinds of anti-bad stuff installed on her
computer and she is constantly having crashes and problems. Norton seems to
be the biggest culprit.

The way I figure it, I just can't allow myself to worry and get paranoid
about a stupid computer. If I get a virus and it breaks - I'll take it to a
computer repair place and let them clean it up. If, in the unlikely event
the computer is totally trashed - I'll decide if I really want a new one. I
am very careful not to store anything of any importance on the computer.

So, has all this hacking and virus stuff been over emphasized to sell
protection software, or have I just been lucky for the last 15 years?

RCE


It is a racket... *but* I ran a year or two without protection and got
infected by a friend. Cost me about $ 125.00 to have it cleaned and
Norton installed.

"Don White" wrote in message
news
RCE wrote:
"Reggie Smithers" wrote in message
...


"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

--
Reggie



Because I am currently bored, I tried that Microsoft SafetyLine link that
someone (JimH?) provided (thanks). I did the full scan doober (took a
while) and it reported my computer was fine, no viruses, no screwed up
files, no de-frag required. Everything is just hunky-dorey.

What's interesting to me is I have never, in all the years I've had a
computer and been on-line used any kind of anti-virus, anti-spyware,
anti-anything software. The only thing protecting this computer from the
cold, hard world is whatever firewall Microsoft uses in XP and whatever
my ISP firewall is. I tell people this and they are horrified - and
they advise me I am going to get hacked, mutilated, screwed and all kinds
of horrible things.
To date (knocking on wood) nothing has ever happened. In fact, the only
problem I encountered with this computer was after Microsoft did one of
those automatic updates, which I didn't know it was going to do until I
shut the computer off one day and it told me to wait while some updates
where installed. The next day I could not connect to our house Wireless
router. I did a "recover" back to a date just prior to the update
installation and everything has been fine ever since. After that
experience, I shut off the automatic update option as well.

My wife, the worry wart, has all kinds of anti-bad stuff installed on her
computer and she is constantly having crashes and problems. Norton seems
to be the biggest culprit.

The way I figure it, I just can't allow myself to worry and get paranoid
about a stupid computer. If I get a virus and it breaks - I'll take it
to a computer repair place and let them clean it up. If, in the unlikely
event the computer is totally trashed - I'll decide if I really want a
new one. I am very careful not to store anything of any importance on
the computer.

So, has all this hacking and virus stuff been over emphasized to sell
protection software, or have I just been lucky for the last 15 years?

RCE
It is a racket... *but* I ran a year or two without protection and got
infected by a friend. Cost me about $ 125.00 to have it cleaned and Norton
installed.

Of the $125 bucks, how much of it was for Norton? This is timely. Since I
posted the above, Mrs.E, who just returned from a week trip, called me
complaining that she could not get on-line. I checked the wireless setup -
fine. My computer using the same router is working fine. So --- I clicked
on the Norton thing ... WOOAAAHHH! Big red alerts, updates required,
impeding critical mass - everything but the sky is falling. I disabled
Norton. Clicked to connect on-line. Bang. There's her homepage.
Everything is fine.

Told her to leave Norton sleeping.

RCE

"RCE" wrote in message
...

"Don White" wrote in message
news
RCE wrote:
"Reggie Smithers" wrote in message
...


"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

--
Reggie



Because I am currently bored, I tried that Microsoft SafetyLine link
that someone (JimH?) provided (thanks). I did the full scan doober
(took a while) and it reported my computer was fine, no viruses, no
screwed up files, no de-frag required. Everything is just hunky-dorey.

What's interesting to me is I have never, in all the years I've had a
computer and been on-line used any kind of anti-virus, anti-spyware,
anti-anything software. The only thing protecting this computer from
the cold, hard world is whatever firewall Microsoft uses in XP and
whatever my ISP firewall is. I tell people this and they are
horrified - and they advise me I am going to get hacked, mutilated,
screwed and all kinds of horrible things.
To date (knocking on wood) nothing has ever happened. In fact, the
only problem I encountered with this computer was after Microsoft did
one of those automatic updates, which I didn't know it was going to do
until I shut the computer off one day and it told me to wait while some
updates where installed. The next day I could not connect to our house
Wireless router. I did a "recover" back to a date just prior to the
update installation and everything has been fine ever since. After that
experience, I shut off the automatic update option as well.

My wife, the worry wart, has all kinds of anti-bad stuff installed on
her computer and she is constantly having crashes and problems. Norton
seems to be the biggest culprit.

The way I figure it, I just can't allow myself to worry and get paranoid
about a stupid computer. If I get a virus and it breaks - I'll take it
to a computer repair place and let them clean it up. If, in the
unlikely event the computer is totally trashed - I'll decide if I really
want a new one. I am very careful not to store anything of any
importance on the computer.

So, has all this hacking and virus stuff been over emphasized to sell
protection software, or have I just been lucky for the last 15 years?

RCE
It is a racket... *but* I ran a year or two without protection and got
infected by a friend. Cost me about $ 125.00 to have it cleaned and
Norton installed.

Of the $125 bucks, how much of it was for Norton? This is timely. Since
I posted the above, Mrs.E, who just returned from a week trip, called me
complaining that she could not get on-line. I checked the wireless
setup - fine. My computer using the same router is working fine. So ---
I clicked on the Norton thing ... WOOAAAHHH! Big red alerts, updates
required, impeding critical mass - everything but the sky is falling. I
disabled Norton. Clicked to connect on-line. Bang. There's her
homepage. Everything is fine.

Told her to leave Norton sleeping.

RCE


You *will* get burned at some point. It's a question of when, not if.

On Wed, 1 Feb 2006 13:00:32 -0500, "RCE" wrote:

So, has all this hacking and virus stuff been over emphasized to sell
protection software, or have I just been lucky for the last 15 years?

You've been lucky. My home computer has the standard array of
protection: anti-virus, hardware firewall, software firewall, and
anti-spyware. It's up 24x7 and constantly connected with never a
problem. Many attempts are logged however.

I have a small laptop which normally gets used on the boat and
consequently has little or no protection. Two years ago I took it on
a trip to upstate NY, dialed into a small town internet service used
by friends, and 15 minutes later had a worm or virus which took down
the whole computer. I had to totally rebuild the software from the
ground up.

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...



You *will* get burned at some point. It's a question of when, not if.


Well sure, now that I've announced to the world that I am unarmed.

Oh, well. Computer prices are coming down.

CE