Virus Warning ("invitation")

[Binky]

I have checked with www.snopes.com and the 'Osama' alert is true.
The 'invitation' one is false.

Emails with pictures of Osama Bin-Laden hanged are being sent,
and the moment that you open these emails your computer will crash and
you will not be able to fix it.
If you get an email along the lines of "Osama Bin Laden Captured"
or "Osama Hanged" don't open the attachment.
This e-mail is being distributed through countries around the
globe, but mainly in the US and Israel.
Be considerate and send this warning to whomever you know.

Please forward this warning among friends, family and contacts.

You should be alert during the next days:

Do not open any message with an attached filed called "Invitation" regardless of who sent it.
It is a virus that opens an Olympic Torch 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, and that is why you should 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 "invitation", though sent by a
friend, do not open it and shut down your computer immediately.
This is the worst virus announced by CNN, and 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.

[pflover]

thanx for the warning!

[medpot]

Dear Binky and Friends!

When your computer do get a virus you must press - (ctrl-alt-del), then click (IEXPLORE.EXE) and then (end process). Now that this is done, you can now safely remove the virus with a virus detector and remover such as AVG 7.0, Norton, etc.

Marc

[BUSH HATER!]

Sorry man, but it's a hoax.

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

[mahunar]

anti vira

[claude_zachary420]

If u ever do get a virus that doesnt let u boot, or u cant boot ur computer for any other reason, its nice to have a BartPE (also check out the ultimate boot cd for windows) disk laying around (http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/intro/ ). It makes sorta a small windows version on CDROM which will boot ur computer. That way u can run programs to fix the problems or simply get data off that u need right now. Its also great for scanning viruses as ur hard drive would have nothing loaded into memory so there arent any issues with not be able to be cleaned cuz its in use. I would also add the last service pack for ur operating system as well as reinstalling it corrects many issues. For emergency virus removal, i like this little freebie here http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/ . Detects spyware as well. Ive added it to a BartPE disk and rescued a few PC's that way. For regular antivirus, AVG, Antivir, and Avast all make a free version. I get the fewest false positives with AVG.

[Binky]

Thanks for the tips I'm using AVG now but find its a real mem hog for my old jalopy.

[claude_zachary420]

"real mem hog"

U could try AntiVir (free-av.com) and see if its any better. I didnt notice a difference in performance. AVG is really light on memory usage tho. Avast uses a bit more. I went to check for the ultimate bootcd for windows and the site is down, so i dunno if thats temporary or not. The regular DOS based one is still out there http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ . (These things really will save ur day when u need them too)

[claude_zachary420]

and jftr.... there r no "warez" or anything like that on those boot cd's so there wont be any of those issues. the boot cd's r 100% legal.