VIRUS ALERT!

Red-Machine · March 20, 2009, 06:26:01 AM

This message was sent to me by a friend of mine. I have seen this before and sent it on before. Can't be too cautious.

QuoteHUGE VIRUS COMING!!! PLEASE READ & FORWARD

I checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus!

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 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 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 unwittingly 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 on March 16th 2009, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus.

This virus apparently 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!

When they say "turn off your computer", I think they mean if you use Outlook or any other email program that downloads emails to your hard drive. You SHOULD be okay with conventional web-based email, just don't download the attatchment!

VonDaab · March 20, 2009, 07:36:07 AM

Wat?

I say BS.

Red-Machine · March 20, 2009, 07:46:18 AM

Hey, I'm just passing it on. Don't shoot the messenger.

VonDaab · March 20, 2009, 07:51:43 AM

I mean, did you make a search about that source of the news?
99% of the results say its a hoax.

Red-Machine · March 20, 2009, 07:55:39 AM

No, someone just emailed it to me. I thought it better to post it up just in case.

Smokey · March 20, 2009, 08:56:29 AM

Better safe than sorry...
Btw my sis got an email not too long ago from hallmark with an attachment, hotmail gave a virus warning and refused to download it...

Dr. Mario · March 20, 2009, 09:16:15 AM

Yes. Even some viruses DO get around NX (bit disable) architecture found on many 64-bit x86 and some PowerPC. I wouldn't take a risk, since such viruses, EVEN 128 bytes in size, are capable of frying your computer crispy. Hoax? 1% BS. YES, it's real. Why Hallmark? It's to confuse the victim and I'm not a baka, I know their dirty works. (why? I used to be a hacker - and not gonna be one again, only to merrily smash the bugs in my own OS.)

Smokey · March 20, 2009, 09:41:16 AM

Well, there are good H4X0RZ too, the ones that get employed by corporations to test and maintain the safety systems...

IanDanKilmaster · March 20, 2009, 01:59:28 PM

Even as a non-expert, I can tell this is 100% BS, and this is coming from someone is completely paranoid about computer safety. This is a hoax meant to instill a sense of panic and so some unoriginal (because this gag has been around forever) prankster can get some kicks-and-giggles. What got me was the warning to "shut down your computer immediately" if you receive such a message - what the hell would that do? How about running a diagnostic first, or better yet, how is a virus going to run if you don't open it? Just to verify, I checked it out on snopes. This is just a message that preys on the ignorance of the general populace regarding computer virii. Yes, there is indeed a postcard virus, but it can't "fry" your hard drive and it's not a "HUGE VIRUS COMING" - it's old news. I'm not saying all this just to be rude - I do appreciate what it seems Red is trying to do here, but at the same time I think it's important to keep a healthy dose of skepticism handy when dealing with these kinds of things.

EDIT: Oh and
please enjoy!

NejinOniwa · March 20, 2009, 04:06:17 PM

Why lol. Results for this one:
"This video is not available in your country" (clean)
"We're sorry, this video is no longer available" (US proxy)
"ã"ã®å‹•ç"»ã¯ãŠä½ã¾ã,,ã®åœ°åŸŸã§ã¯ã"åˆ©ç"¨ã,,ãŸã ã'ã¾ã›ã,"ã€, " (Jap proxy)

Dunno why I tried the jap proxy, but meh, oh well.
And these are just run-of-the-mill shitmails anyway. "HUGE VIRUSES COMING" aren't announced by some random guy who just HAPPENS to know your email - it's announced on slashdot, then blogs, then newspages, and then in the old world media.

Emails don't spread news, unless it's about a nerdy subject you've signed up for to know aboot. That's how I roll.

Added after 45 seconds:

Try this one out for size, btw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMAkCK4ZYN8

Red-Machine · March 20, 2009, 04:31:31 PM

lol, good old Wierd Al.

IanDanKilmaster · March 20, 2009, 04:55:16 PM

I'm sorry but when I read "VIRUS ALERT!" that was the very first thing that popped into my head XD. I had hoped the video was on youtube and as luck would have it, Weird Al has his own youtube channel - snooch to the nooch! It also gave me an opportunity to view
this classic.

QuoteAnd these are just run-of-the-mill shitmails anyway. "HUGE VIRUSES COMING" aren't announced by some random guy who just HAPPENS to know your email - it's announced on slashdot, then blogs, then newspages, and then in the old world media.

That was pretty much the idea I was going for, and if you actually happen to know any IT guys personally, chances are they wouldn't announce such a thing in an e-mail like that - unless it's April 1st, of course.

NejinOniwa · March 20, 2009, 05:04:45 PM

As my sad luck, it seems it's not open to anything outside of his own landyards...oh, gee. I've got my private hotline to EVERYTHING. Baka me! ^_^ ; *V* >w<

Ok, I should stop now before I make myself puke from sheer disgust over my own behavior. Lawl.

IanDanKilmaster · March 20, 2009, 06:22:32 PM

Wha? That's weird, there's not really much I can do on my end other than suggest editing your user string along with using a proxy. I don't know if I should continue derailing this with trial & error on YouTube ^^; .

Smokey · March 21, 2009, 07:39:02 AM

Maybe it's a virus preventing you from opening that on uTube...^_^

Also i receive my warnings in mail first from Sophos Virus Alert...
Here's a snippet from the 16 march mail...

Sophos enews: the newswire which brings you up-to-the-minute reports on virus, spyware and spam issues, new Sophos products and enhancements.

Malware fall-out after dirty bomb news report in *your* city
----
Hackers have launched an attack against Windows users, posing as a breaking news story about a fatal explosion that has taken place in their neighborhood. Cunningly, the criminals are using Geo-IP technology to make the warnings more convincing, by including the name of the recipient's nearest city! Discover more in these blog articles.
http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2009/03/16/dirty-bomb-news-report
http://www.sophos.com/security/blog/2009/03/3541.html