Got this from a pal of mine.Anyone else heard of it? HUGE VIRUS COMING ! PLEASE READ & FORWARD !

Hi All,

I checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus!
I checked Snopes, and it is for real. Get this E-mail message sent around to all your contacts ASAP.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS!

You should be alert during the next few days. Do not open any message with an attachment entitled 'POSTCARD FROM HALLMARK,'regardless of who sent it to you. It is a virus which opens A POSTCARD IMAGE, which 'burns' the whole hard disc C drive of your computer.

This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address on his/her contact list. That 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 if it is 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

:hihi::hihi::hihi::hihi:

sounds very much like the take over at sheff wed:hihi:

Its a VERY OLD hoax - see the link below and tell the person who sent it to NEVER forward on warnings like this - it is worse than spam and just goes to prove how easily duped people are.

The bottom line is that this same basic hoax has been circulating in various languages since at least 2000, with occasional changes along the way. No such (incurable) virus exists, has been identified by McAfee, or was reported on by CNN.

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

Ironically, the only incurable 'virus' here, is this warning message itself..

Its a VERY OLD hoax - see the link below and tell the person who sent it to NEVER forward on warnings like this - it is worse than spam and just goes to prove how easily duped people are.

The bottom line is that this same basic hoax has been circulating in various languages since at least 2000, with occasional changes along the way. No such (incurable) virus exists, has been identified by McAfee, or was reported on by CNN.

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

A more relevant Snopes link will be this one

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

which confirms that there IS a postcard virus, but it is not as destructive or widespread as the email claims - after all it has been around for a few years.

(the links in some postcard emails do point to malware sites) As the article states, only 'unpatched' systems will be at risk.

Simple common sense will suffice in any cases of this, or variants on phishing / malware linked emails.

Don't follow links from people you don't know
Don't follow links from banks telling you to update your settings
Ensure you have an up to date antivirus installed

My God, I though no-one fell for these things any more?

Whilst this is one version of a well known hoax, it's worth pointing out that this is indeed a way that malware spreads and as we are approaching Christmas we will no doubt to see this kind of threat resurface.

In the past Botnets such as Waldec (http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_153670.htm) & Storm certainly have used the social engineering methods of fake e-cards (http://www.eset.com/threat-center/blog/2008/12/21/fake-holiday-ecards-are-you-surprised) at times such as Easter, Valentines Day & Christmas in an attempt to hijack PC's to use for their criminal activities.

Go with the age old advice:

Never open email from someone you don't know.
Avoid opening email attachments.
Avoid clicking on any URLs in email.
Avoid clicking on URLs in email from banks, government, etc, even if they are official looking. Phone them directly.
Avoid opening e-cards which are not from a freind/relative and even then check with who sent it you first.
Never install updates or programs from an email attachment or URL
Use plain text mode in email.
Avoid links and files shared in Instant Messaging software

This type of scare email just goes to prove that people will open and forward anything.

Anyone forwarding this kind of stuff probably already has massive problems with viruses and spyware anyway.

Mark it as spam and don't join in any form of mindless email forwarding.

As the article states, only 'unpatched' systems will be at risk.

http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/unpatched-software-vector-piracy-might.html

Monday, the Business Software Alliance released a report that estimated the “staggering” number of Internet users swapping software through P2P networks has resulted in 41 percent of applications on computers today being unpatched.....

.....In spite of the free security updates available by nearly all software vendors, a huge number of users rarely install them. Applications are patched even less than operating systems. He cites information from IBM and Secunia.

So, it is possible that all those pirated operating systems and applications are unpatched and wide open for bot and other malware infections (like Conficker recently), but it doesn’t really matter since a vast number of Internet users don’t update ANY software, legitimate or pirated.


That doesn't make for good reading.

Sorry, only trying to help.

http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/unpatched-software-vector-piracy-might.html



That doesn't make for good reading.

Indeed. I don't have sympathy though. If people are foolish enough to not be patched up-to-date (even cracked Windows systems allow the High Risk updates to be installed....just not the optional ones), or have an up-to-date virus killer (when there are free ones to obtain), then it is akin to them leaving their frint door wide open and wondering why their TV went missing overnight.

Sorry, only trying to help.

Don't worry Kidorry it's been doing the rounds for some time now and I nearly fell for it myself the first time.

I wasn't laughing at you by the way, but at the post.

Hi Kidorry,

Any email which asks you to forward it, whether its warning you of a virus, or of any 'new' scam, is ALWAYS spam. To prove it (if you really need to) just type in a few key words into google followed by the word 'snopes'

So in this case just type 'Huge Virus snopes' in to google and have a read.

Send a reply to the person who sent it with a link disproving it and politely ask them not to include you in any more of these alerts.

People need to get out of the habit of mass forwarding emails, whether its these hoaxes, or stupid 'funnies'. It is this kind of behavior that makes it easier for viruses to spread in the first place.

Hi Kidorry,

Any email which asks you to forward it, whether its warning you of a virus, or of any 'new' scam, is ALWAYS spam. To prove it (if you really need to) just type in a few key words into google followed by the word 'snopes'

So in this case just type 'Huge Virus snopes' in to google and have a read.

Send a reply to the person who sent it with a link disproving it and politely ask them not to include you in any more of these alerts.

People need to get out of the habit of mass forwarding emails, whether its these hoaxes, or stupid 'funnies'. It is this kind of behavior that makes it easier for viruses to spread in the first place.
Cheers Zongamin.

i love em when they say shuit down your computer immediately :)

it may aswell say shut down your computer immediately, unplug it, sell it, move to the sahara and stick your head int he sand