Virus checkers, or lack thereof

Lukin Black

I got home from Dublin today, down for the Metallica gig, and decided to check my e-mail before I went to bed. Took a 'little' while to download, and I found out it was because I had received the Sobig virus, as an attachment. The only thing was that I had received it 76 times. Each attachment was around 100kb, and 100kb * 76 adds up to [David Brent] a lot [/DB].

So I got mad with the virus creators. And then I thought, who in this day and age doesn't have a virus checker. There's no flipping excuse, since [edit]some are available for[/edit] free. Most people who would have my address are all fairly computer literate. Even people who don't have computers know about major viruses cause of news reports, so why owners don't get their fingers out.. I dunno.

So can anyone beat 76 over a 2 1/2 day period to a personal address?

[edit]
My point is, that if people weren't as GD lazy about installing AV software and keeping it up to date, then there wouldn't be some much going around. Although I'm not getting any nasty payloads on my computer, I still have to deal with all the crap coming to me in my e-mail
[/edit]

herbie747

Do YOU have a virus checker? Or are you blaming the people who sent it?

Lukin Black

I'm Virus-checker-ed up to the eyeballs, I'm just giving out that other people don't have the consideration to do the same. Apart from the fact that they could, and probably will end up with a virus, the fact that they're just facilitating the virus creators is irresponsible. I know that would only happen in an online utopia, but really I'm fed up of people calling me going "There's something wrong with my computer, it's shutting itself down. Help". And meh is too polite to say fak off, you never updated your virus checker.

Got 37 more Sopig e-mails today, but used MailWasher so I didn't have to d/l em.

Ste-

It's pc illerate people who don't bother getting them turning them on.
Pisses me off to coz I get them "calls" too.
Oh my pc is broken I think it's a virus :rolleyes:
They don't think about what could happen till it does happen.
Maybe a big sticker on the pc when there buying it along the lines of

Get a virus checker and have it turned on and up to date!!!!

red_ice

Lads, hold up here... he has a problem, norton and the likes are doing a crap job! Cmon, sure they dont have a fix for a virus the very instant that it is released onto the internet its only taking them a couple of hours or a day to fix. So i think we should all protest and have them shut down.

herbie747

I presume you're being sarcastic, because how can Symantec have a fix for a virus that hasn't even been released?

Ronan|Raven

The main problem is people who regardless of if they have a virus scanner or not open the attachments in these mails. Hmm Hotgurlll.avi.zip.exe.pif it has to be a real!

Ste-

Originally posted by herbie747
how can Symantec have a fix for a virus that hasn't even been released?

Heuristics can actually catch new viruses by some regular behaviour in virsues. So I hear anyway.

Plus I agree with Ronan|Raven

That was the thing with Sobig wasn't it.

"Here's the app you wanted, see attachment"

App.pif :rolleyes:

Winters

Subject:
Re: Details
Re: Approved
Re: Re: My details
Re: Thank you!
Re: That movie
Re: Wicked screensaver
Re: Your application
Thank you!
Your details

Body:
See the attached file for details
Please see the attached file for details.

Attachment:
your_document.pif
document_all.pif
thank_you.pif
your_details.pif
details.pif
document_9446.pif
application.pif
wicked_scr.scr
movie0045.pif

your_document.pif from some unknown email address? [Sobig used spoof email addresses] ... ill open it twice please :rolleyes:

Some people should just not own computers tbh. I got it emailed to me twice. Deletd it twice before i even knew what it was. Who the hell sctucully sends screen savers by email anywhy?

swiss

I've had to deal with calls from people who had virii on their system too. Usually the damage is already done by the time they put on their AV, and they end up having to have the hard drive reformatted.

I just think that there is a general lack of information in the public domain about the importance of virus checkers. It can also be tricky for the n00b to find a decent AV, it took me a while to find AVG but I would recommend it to any home user looking for one, it's very good and very free.

If you're running a business, then I would recommend sophos. This is just based on conversations I have had with people working in the AV industry though, I have not used this particular AV program myself.

OT
I have AVG running, and it found (and healed) a virus found in one of my apps about a fortnight ago. However, it still warns me about it, and asks me to run AVG again. When I do so, the test results are negative. Should I worry about it?

Lukin Black

Originally posted by red_ice
Lads, hold up here... he has a problem, norton and the likes are doing a crap job! Cmon, sure they dont have a fix for a virus the very instant that it is released onto the internet its only taking them a couple of hours or a day to fix. So i think we should all protest and have them shut down.

Umm, these guys are usually on the ball, and the defs are released before the virus gets widespread. I was downloading a fix for Blaster for two friends last week, and Symantec was already highlighting Sopig as a major threat, and come this week, here it comes. The point being I didn't get it and won't get it cause I bother to download the AV updates, not that the AV companies are too slow.

Barry Aldwell

Originally posted by swiss
OT
I have AVG running, and it found (and healed) a virus found in one of my apps about a fortnight ago. However, it still warns me about it, and asks me to run AVG again. When I do so, the test results are negative. Should I worry about it?

I've noticed a similar thing in Norton. If it detects a dodgy file in a zip or a folder, and I delete it manually (because it won't let me quarantine it) it continues sending up warning messages until I restart the pc.

UbahOne

How can you be so stupid to open something like that? ****s sake...get a virsus checker and turn it on. And a firewall too. Dont be so ****en stupid.

Silent Bob

How to have a virus free computer system

1) format C:

2) pop a GNU/Linux install CD into your drive

3) freedom

Lukin Black

Doesn't stop the 9 or 10 megs of stuff I end up getting sent clogging up my mailbox. Plus, I have to dual boot as there are always those one or two programs that I need under windows frequently.

And no Wine won't do it.

Silent Bob

Originally posted by Lukin Black
And no Wine won't do it.

Don't worry, I wouldn't have recommended WINE anyway

mike65

Have received 6 of those damn 100kb files so far today I was wondering if it was the damed S.O.B-ig virus. Needless to say I deleted and destroyed. Is anyone silly enough to open an
attachment by were'nt expecting from an addy they dont recognise?. Dont say yes!

Mike.

Barry Aldwell

Suprisingly, I haven't recieved a single copy of the sobig virus. Maybe IOL is just a good isp, or I just know smart people, but otherwise I can't explain it.

Lukin Black

Originally posted by mike65
Is anyone silly enough to open an
attachment by were'nt expecting from an addy they dont recognise?. Dont say yes!

Never underestimate the power of the promise of free pr0n!

Obviously people are careless like that, otherwise it wouldn't be so widespread. I'm at Sobig email number 178 as of five minutes ago :rolleyes:

So-big. Too true.