Posted by MonicaFL on 10/25/07 6:57pm
Msg #218318

a New VIRUS and this one is REAL

I just received this from my Aunt and I checked it out with snopes.com and it is right there. Just thought I would pass it along.



Here’s the Snopes link for verification.
http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/postcard.asp


PLEASE

SEND THIS TO EVERYONE ON YOUR CONTACT LIST!!

A new virus has just been discovered that has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive ever. This virus was discovered yesterday afternoon by McAfee . This virus simply destroys Sector Zero from the hard disk, where vital information for its functioning are stored.
This virus acts in the following manner:
It sends itself automatically to all contacts on your list with the title:
"You've received a Post Card from a Family member".

As soon as the supposed virtual card is opened the computer freezes so that the user has to reboot. When the ctrl+alt+ del keys or the reset button are pressed, the virus destroys Sector Zero, thus permanently destroying the hard disk. Yesterday injust a few hours this virus caused panic in New York , according to news broadcast by CNN.

This alert was received by an employee of Microsoft itse lf.
So don't open any mails with subject: "A Post Card from ....."
As soon as you get the mail, delete it !! Even if you know the sender !!!

Please pass this mail to all of your friends.

Forward this to everyone in your address book.
I'm sure most people, like myself, would rather
receive this notice 25 times than not at All.

Reply by Charles_Ca on 10/25/07 8:35pm
Msg #218325

Monica, did you notice the article was from 2002? n/m

Reply by MonicaFL on 10/25/07 8:44pm
Msg #218326

Re: Monica, did you notice the article was from 2002?

no, but I didn't know about it and strangely enough I had just received an e-mail to that effect but didn't open it because I thought it was going to be an ad to buy cards.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 10/25/07 9:11pm
Msg #218330

Re: Monica, did you notice the article was from 2002?

The Snopes article has a date of 2007 - and says updated August 2007, and the McAfee article it links to says the virus was discovered June 4th 2007 and also lists an article in the San Francisco Chronicle 13th August 2007.

Reply by MonicaFL on 10/26/07 7:59am
Msg #218386

Re: Monica, did you notice the article was from 2002?

Sorry guys, didn't mean to "start" something. I was just passing on this info as a courtesy to all of you. I won't do it anymore. Again, sorry.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 10/26/07 8:25am
Msg #218389

Re: Monica, did you notice the article - Monica

The confusion (which Paul has explained to me) is that the "e-mail message" in your post is the one that was the "Hoax" from a few years ago. The text in the current e-mail is the one referenced in the Snopes link you posted.

It is well to remind members not to open attachments unless they are sure who they came from and were expecting an e-mail with an attachment.

Reply by PAW on 10/25/07 10:12pm
Msg #218353

A wave of malicious messages sent out in June 2007 arrived in inboxes bearing subject lines such as "You've received a postcard from a family member!" The messages contain URLs that recipients are supposed to visit to retrieve their e-cards, but those URLs actually point to servers hosting a variety of malware (including a variant of the Storm Trojan, "an aggressive piece of malware that has been hijacking computers to serve as attacker bots" since early 2007) that is furtively installed onto victims' PCs. (Generally, only unpatched Windows-based systems are vulnerable.)

According to McAfee (http://vil.nai.com/vil/Content/v_98893.htm), the original message (as provided above) was first report on 11/16/2000. Also, McAfee states that the "email message is just a HOAX, currently we know of no other message that the user will receive about the HOAX as the initial email states. AVERT has not received any report of a user's hard drive being erased for opening the email.

"We are advising users who receive the email to delete it and DO NOT pass it on as this is how an email HOAX propagates. "

And, as an FYI, sector zero of a disk can be repaired fairly easily.

Reply by Charles_Ca on 10/25/07 10:15pm
Msg #218355

Re: a New VIRUS and this one is REAL, thanks Paul, also

Also, and no to be contentious but if you go to the Snopes URL at:

http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/virtualcard.asp

It shows the same article word for word that Monica posted was collected from the internet in 2002.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 10/25/07 10:33pm
Msg #218357

Check out this McAfee message - read all the way to the end.


http://vil.nai.com/vil/Content/v_142621.htm

Reply by Charles_Ca on 10/25/07 10:46pm
Msg #218359

I did, and I don't see your point. It was updated 2007!

Nowhere in your link does it state that it affects Segment Zero and it shows a low threat for both Home and Corporate users. I don't understand what you are trying to say. Furthermore Snopes lists the original posters cut and paste as a Hoax.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 10/26/07 5:17am
Msg #218377

Re: I did, and I don't see your point. It was updated 2007!

In the link Monica posted it did say to be careful not to confuse the real postcard/greeting card virus with the "Virtual Card For You" Hoax that has been circulating for several years. It says that some of the "postcard warnings contribute to the confusion by including a link to the snopes article on the virtual hoax. They are not the same thing.
The McAfee link says the virus was discovered 7/4/2007.
It is a low risk threat, but it is not the Hoax virus that was circulating several years ago.

Reply by MikeC/NY on 10/25/07 10:54pm
Msg #218361

Critical thinking skills

Given that we all have at least heard about the fact that there are bad people on the Internet trying to do bad things, why would ANYONE open an attachment or follow a link contained in an email they weren't expecting??? You should take a second or two to think about what you're doing before you do it.

<< Yesterday in just a few hours this virus caused panic in New York , according to news broadcast by CNN.>>

I live in the suburbs of NYC and can tell you with absolute certainty that this did not happen. Not yesterday, not last week, not 5 years ago (as per Charles/CA's comment on how old this story is). It's bogus, pure and simple...

<<Please pass this mail to all of your friends.>>

Please don't - all that will do is continue an urban legend

Reply by CaliNotary on 10/26/07 12:27pm
Msg #218457

Re: Critical thinking skills

"<<Please pass this mail to all of your friends.>>

Please don't - all that will do is continue an urban legend"

Isn't that really all we need to see in the email to know it's BS? I seriously can't believe that people are still falling for this Chicken Little stuff in 2007.