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A Word About the MyDoom Worm At last report one of every 12 emails being sent is being sent by the "MyDoom worm". This worm is now infecting MILLIONS of computers. We (as well as the rest of the Internet) have been inundated with it. There is absolutely no reason why it has to be this way. It's simple: The only way this worm can spread is because there are still those out there who insist on clicking executable attachments directly in email. Always be wary of attachments. Worms make email appear to be from addresses of people that you know. If you are not sure what it is, delete it, or at least save it to your desktop and scan it with a reliable and recently updated anti-virus program. NEVER trust the "from" address of an email with an attachment, especially during a widespread outbreak like this one. There are many who still don't have anti-virus protection or who don't keep their anti-virus updated. There are still those who won't update their Windows version with the latest security fixes and patches by frequently going to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com. It's astonishing that there are that many people (millions) still running blind on the Internet. They, seemingly, totally unaware of the risks involved, unwittingly help propagate such things as the "MyDoom" worm. Many people buy new computers with anti-virus software pre-installed (usually Norton Anti-Virus or McAfee Anti-Virus because of deals computer manufacturer's cut with McAfee and Norton) and think they are protected forever. They see the "Protected by Norton", etc. and relax in a false sense of security. But both McAfee & Norton require you to purchase the software after the trial period. Once you buy one of these products you will still have to pay an "annual fee" (hmmm...imagine the outrage if Microsoft made you buy Windows and charged you an annual fee to use it!) for the privilege of keeping it up-to-date. The point is, many don't buy the software after the trial period is over or don't pay the annual fee and therefore the software will not update rendering it worthless; because when an anti-virus program is not updated very frequently it becomes useless, providing only a dangerous false sense of security. If you want to use Norton or McAfee that is your prerogative. Just make sure you pay your annual fee so that you can can update it (and check to make sure the auto-updates are working correctly). Secondly, please uncheck the box in Outlook Express, under Tools---->Options----->Send that says "Automatically put people I reply to in my address book". If you should somehow get a worm or virus at least you won't be spreading it to everyone in a bloated address book. And, don't fall for those hoaxes that say if you make an entry in your address book like "0000001" it will go to the top of your address book list and prevent worms from extracting the real addresses beneath it. It won't. Worms and viruses extract only addresses that appear to be valid (i.e. in the someone@someone.com format). Additionally viruses/worms will extract email addresses from other folders and files as well ( such as documents, saved emails, temp files, Temporary Internet Files, etc.). Internet service providers who scan mail for viruses and then send out "your email has a virus" letters to whomever is listed in the "From" address actually exacerbate the problem by flooding the Internet with even more useless junk email. It's useless because the email with the virus/worm is seldom sent from the address in the "From" field. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should know better. Instead they rely on outdated and ineffective auto-responders that simply add more email to the already choking Internet email system. They should know that most of these worms "spoof" the from address and respond accordingly. You can help rid the Internet of things like MyDoom just by using common sense and taking simple precautions such as those indicated above. Help your friends and family members too by sharing your knowledge with them. You can read more about the MyDoom worm by clicking here. Information Avenue Home | InfoAve Premium Lifetime Subscription Offer | Close This Window Copyright ©2004 by Cloudeight Internet (all rights reserved) |