For Windows 9.xx to Windows XP/Vista & MAC Tip # 0014
An eMail arrives with an attachment. With all the cautions and warnings you have received, you are aware that perhaps that eMail with an attachment you just received might contain a virus or spy-ware. What do you do? Well, the standard suggestion is just delete anything from anyone you don’t know. That is not always necessary or even a good idea.
And sometimes a virus can arrive from someone you do know. If you have a good deal of traffic as I do, I also receive mails from people who I might not know but in fact the attachment is something that may be useful, of interest, even important. Is there any way to scan an eMail attachment before you open it?
The answer I am pleased to report is Yes. In fact there is an easy way to find out if it is safe or not.
Here is a simple way to scan any attachment (limit 10MB) and insure it will not do any harm to your computer:
1. Forward that email message with the file attachment intact to scan@virustotal.com
2. Write SCAN in the Subject field of the forwarded message and delete the full body of the message. Now, hit “Send”.
3. You should receive a virus report in your in-box very shortly.
Within a few minutes you will receive a report from the nice people at Virustotal.com and it will tell you whether there is any virus or Trojan hiding in the attachment. In my tests it took less than 5 minutes with the usual response time being around 2 minutes.
As long as the report comes back with “nothing found” from each service, you can now open the attachment without concern.
One nifty aspect of the service is it passes your attachment through most all of the best anti-virus programmes including AVG, F-Secure, Norton, McAfee, Panda, Avast and Microsoft to name a few.
This is a handy effective tool. It is particularly useful if you are using dial-up.
Suppose though, you have already downloaded a file to your hard drive which you are not sure about. Not a problem. Simply go to the following URL: http://www.virustotal.com/.
You will see their main page and in the middle you will see “Upload a file”. Below you will see “Browse”. Click on browse and chose the file from the location on your hard drive. The Virus Total programme with then upload your programme to their site. You will be notified how many people are in front of you and an approximate time you will have to wait. Then your file will be filtered through 32 individual virus and Trojan detectors. Keep your browser open until the programme is finished.
[Note: this can take a while. Even with broadband it can take 10 through 15 minutes. I suggest if you are using dial up, you send the file (under 10 MB) as an eMail attachment.]
When the programme is finished you can see on the Virus Total page the status of your file. It will tell you if any of the programmes detected a problem. If not you will have a degree of certainty that all is well with this particular file. Remember there is no such thing as absolute security and there is always a remote chance that a new and undetected virus or Trojan may be present, but after this multiple scan I would say the chances are very remote. Personally I would be very comfortable opening a file after this scrutiny.
If one of more programmes does detect a virus or Trojan, then I suggest you immediately run a full virus scan using the anti-virus programme of your choice.
Of course the use of either or both of these utilities comes at my favourite price, nothing, zilch, nada, zippp; it is free.
Now, dear Bulldog readers, you may have heard the news. This will be the last print edition of the Daily Bulldog. Sad I know. The great news is The Daily Bulldog will be available from here on out on the web at: http://dailybulldog.com/.
I will still be writing my monthly column which will be available in the on-line version of the Daily Bulldog. It will also be available at the following site: http://bulldogtipstricks.blogspot.com/.
If you have not already done so, I suggest you use the ‘Favourites’ selection in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer or the “Bookmarks” selection in Firefox and save both The Daily Bulldog’s URL and the Tips and Tricks URL so they will both be readily and easily assessable.
I would like to thank all my readers over the past year or so, and especially the readers who have written to me either to thank me or with a computer problem. It has been a wonderful experience for me. Your questions and comments are important to me so I hope I shall be hearing more from you all in the coming year. It has been a privilege and a lot of fun serving you in print and I look forward to continuing to serve you on line.
In addition to my monthly column, I will be posting articles, virus warnings and tech suggestions as they come up. If there is anything tech you would like to know more about send me your suggestions.
See you on the web.
As always you can reach me at: guygriscom@gmail.com
Showing posts with label Virus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Virus. Show all posts
Monday, March 17, 2008
Friday, December 28, 2007
VIRUS ALERT!
“Happy-2008.exe”
The Storm Worm’s New Years Greeting
Many of us are winding down in these last days of 2007. Christmas has come and gone; store bargains have either been missed or had by now. In the tech world, things are relatively quiet.
The biggest ‘buz’ has been the Queen of England creating her own YouTube channel proof that the Internet is here to stay. When 1000-year old monarchies ‘adopt’, the technological shifts are confirmed. The Queen also saw fit to deliver a message via her new ‘web presence’. Her first ‘invitation’ was sent via YouTube eMail to her son Prince Charles. I’ll bet he was thrilled.
The next ‘big thing’ on the tech horizon is the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is not happening for a week or two. The latest and greatest tech will be on display; trend-casting will be based on what shows up there. Tech-wise, the only other imminent news is the newly minted bargains in computers and computer related equipment that begins around the twentieth of January. It is always a thrill to buy a brand new machine for more than half-off the October-November price. One of the rare times in the tech world where patience is rewarded.
So why am I breaking with Tradition and bothering my Editor during such a pleasant down-time season? The answer is simple and the reason is clear. There is a lingering danger out there in computer-land. A resurgence of a Trojan Virus that by all rights should by now have been rendered benign. By late August the ‘Storm Worm’ had infected over 10 million machines and effected networks and ISPs in 108 countries.
It is a ‘bot’ exploit which turns your machine into a spammer’s tool. It has some nasty implications, but simply put, if you were infected, your machine would slow down as if molasses hard replaced your processors. Everything would take longer. There were decent ‘fixes’ and by mid-September most in the tech world thought it had been rendered useless. By October ‘the Storm’ was no more than a small squall.
Like that lingering summer cold, it had staying power, though. Most anti-virus programmes even the worst of them like MacAfee and Norton had developed protection, and security experts thought it was finished. At the worst it was a malingering annoyance for the most part easily dealt with.
For the digerati who follow such things; it seemed another challenge to Web security was thwarted and not something to worry about. Happily for all of us, there are a core group of internet security heroes, who live, breathe and follow every virus and permutation thereof. There had been some postings on internet boards about potential dangers but everyone was lulled. Myself included.
Then the first “Storm” arrived late Christmas Eve. I was blissfully unaware. By mid-morning Christmas day, my in-box was overflowing with questions and queries from our loyal Bulldog readers. The newly opened computers delivered by Santa had some problems. That is not all that unusual.
It was not until late afternoon that I began to see a pattern. Our readers had received eMails with headings like: merrychristmasdude.com, which was in fact the Email-Worm.Win32.Zhelatin.pd. It was a ‘re-direct’ and you did not need to do more than open up an eMail to become a part of the nefarious scheme.
Aside from some delayed enjoyment though this seemed to be little more than an annoyance and not a serious security problem. I followed up and most people who were ‘hit by the Storm’ were back in action in a relatively short time. I was alerted that the ‘Storm Worm’ had staying power.
Without going into details what I want to let you know is this. The forecast for New Year’s Eve is ‘Storm’. Here is what to look for and how to protect yourselves and your families.
Update your anti-virus programmes over the week-end. The problem with this particular Trojan Virus is your anti-virus cannot protect you from opening an infected eMail.
Beware any eMails that have this in the heading or Subject: happy2008.exe, happy-2008.exe, happynewyear2008.exe. Or ‘UHavePostCard’.
If you find yourselves being inadvertently directed to a web site that has the following address: newyearcards2008.com, close down your browser IMMEDIATELY.
If despite the warnings and your precautions you find your computer is running excessively slowly on New Year’s Day or shortly thereafter, then here are two actions you can take.
Download Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=ad724ae0-e72d-4f54-9ab3-75b8eb148356&displaylang=en
I know this is a long URL, but it will take you straight to the sight. The download times are:
dial-up, about 20 minutes.
DSL/Cable, about 5 minutes
I wish all my friends and Bulldog readers a Very Happy 2008. A “Storm” Free, healthy, happy and prosperous New Year!
If you have any questions about this or other computer problems you can eMail me @ guygriscom@gmail.com or for any of my new or former Bulldog articles you can find them at:
http://bulldogtipstricks.blogspot.com/
The Storm Worm’s New Years Greeting
Many of us are winding down in these last days of 2007. Christmas has come and gone; store bargains have either been missed or had by now. In the tech world, things are relatively quiet.
The biggest ‘buz’ has been the Queen of England creating her own YouTube channel proof that the Internet is here to stay. When 1000-year old monarchies ‘adopt’, the technological shifts are confirmed. The Queen also saw fit to deliver a message via her new ‘web presence’. Her first ‘invitation’ was sent via YouTube eMail to her son Prince Charles. I’ll bet he was thrilled.
The next ‘big thing’ on the tech horizon is the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is not happening for a week or two. The latest and greatest tech will be on display; trend-casting will be based on what shows up there. Tech-wise, the only other imminent news is the newly minted bargains in computers and computer related equipment that begins around the twentieth of January. It is always a thrill to buy a brand new machine for more than half-off the October-November price. One of the rare times in the tech world where patience is rewarded.
So why am I breaking with Tradition and bothering my Editor during such a pleasant down-time season? The answer is simple and the reason is clear. There is a lingering danger out there in computer-land. A resurgence of a Trojan Virus that by all rights should by now have been rendered benign. By late August the ‘Storm Worm’ had infected over 10 million machines and effected networks and ISPs in 108 countries.
It is a ‘bot’ exploit which turns your machine into a spammer’s tool. It has some nasty implications, but simply put, if you were infected, your machine would slow down as if molasses hard replaced your processors. Everything would take longer. There were decent ‘fixes’ and by mid-September most in the tech world thought it had been rendered useless. By October ‘the Storm’ was no more than a small squall.
Like that lingering summer cold, it had staying power, though. Most anti-virus programmes even the worst of them like MacAfee and Norton had developed protection, and security experts thought it was finished. At the worst it was a malingering annoyance for the most part easily dealt with.
For the digerati who follow such things; it seemed another challenge to Web security was thwarted and not something to worry about. Happily for all of us, there are a core group of internet security heroes, who live, breathe and follow every virus and permutation thereof. There had been some postings on internet boards about potential dangers but everyone was lulled. Myself included.
Then the first “Storm” arrived late Christmas Eve. I was blissfully unaware. By mid-morning Christmas day, my in-box was overflowing with questions and queries from our loyal Bulldog readers. The newly opened computers delivered by Santa had some problems. That is not all that unusual.
It was not until late afternoon that I began to see a pattern. Our readers had received eMails with headings like: merrychristmasdude.com, which was in fact the Email-Worm.Win32.Zhelatin.pd. It was a ‘re-direct’ and you did not need to do more than open up an eMail to become a part of the nefarious scheme.
Aside from some delayed enjoyment though this seemed to be little more than an annoyance and not a serious security problem. I followed up and most people who were ‘hit by the Storm’ were back in action in a relatively short time. I was alerted that the ‘Storm Worm’ had staying power.
Without going into details what I want to let you know is this. The forecast for New Year’s Eve is ‘Storm’. Here is what to look for and how to protect yourselves and your families.
Update your anti-virus programmes over the week-end. The problem with this particular Trojan Virus is your anti-virus cannot protect you from opening an infected eMail.
Beware any eMails that have this in the heading or Subject: happy2008.exe, happy-2008.exe, happynewyear2008.exe. Or ‘UHavePostCard’.
If you find yourselves being inadvertently directed to a web site that has the following address: newyearcards2008.com, close down your browser IMMEDIATELY.
If despite the warnings and your precautions you find your computer is running excessively slowly on New Year’s Day or shortly thereafter, then here are two actions you can take.
Download Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=ad724ae0-e72d-4f54-9ab3-75b8eb148356&displaylang=en
I know this is a long URL, but it will take you straight to the sight. The download times are:
dial-up, about 20 minutes.
DSL/Cable, about 5 minutes
I wish all my friends and Bulldog readers a Very Happy 2008. A “Storm” Free, healthy, happy and prosperous New Year!
If you have any questions about this or other computer problems you can eMail me @ guygriscom@gmail.com or for any of my new or former Bulldog articles you can find them at:
http://bulldogtipstricks.blogspot.com/
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