Attention Editors

[turner28]

A writer contacted me for an edit job. When he sent me the file it was infected with a SERIOUS VIRUS / TROJAN!!!!!

The title of the story is FANTASY and it is a MSWorks file. This file will download a program called PERSONAL INTERNET SECURITY 2011 onto your system. This appears to be a legit program but it is NOT!

So far I have had to unistall this bad baby manually however AT&T will remove it for a fee. You can also remove it with REGISTRY PC.

This program will infiltrate EVERY file on your system. It will prevent proper internet connection and constantly pops up a box saying you have a bunch of viruses and torjans on your system that are not actually there.

It does this to get you to ORDER the software - the order form is a HOAAX form to get your credit card information. The home site for this software has misspelled words all over it so I doubt seriously that it is a legit company. There is no real contact information and a WHOIS does not reveal the owner.

There is also another link that will take you to a site that claims they will REMOVE this from your system - for $130.

I am posting this here to let you know that I FEEL this person sent this virus DELIBERATELY. Things they said to me in chat tipped me off.

PM me if you get a MSWorks file and are unsure about it. You do not need to open this file to infect your PC! Look at the file extension BEFORE downloading it. Please ask - I know this person's yahoo id and will happily share it with you in a PM.

ET

 

[sr71plt]

This is the bane of the publishing world. While working in a publishing house, I've twice experienced a whole publishing operation having to shut down for more than a day because of an incoming computer virus. You really need to have great filters on your computer system if you're going to be working as an editor electronically.

 

[Darkniciad]

I'm inclined to suspect that the attachment didn't actually get you, if you never opened it. Malware simply doesn't work that way.

If you were infected without opening the attachment, the culprit is probably something in the body of the email itself. If you don't have images and external links disabled by default, it's easy for someone to slip malicious code into the body of the email itself and get you without clicking anything.

If that's the case, and the appropriate protections aren't in place ( disabled images/links & malware scanners ), by the time you see the attachment to check the extension, you're already screwed.

 

[turner28]

I tried to open the *** thing, I kept getting a message that said it was corrupt. He would reformat and send it over same results. BUT after I removed it the first time I DID NOT open it again, I only opened the folder and bam it hit me again.

ET

 

[evanslily]

Ah, that one. It's a joy, isn't it? My son managed to click on something that downloaded that little beauty on to our PC. Clever little thing - looks like it's your own antivirus software but of course it isn't. It somehow disables any antivirus software you've actually got.

But it didn't come as an attachment to an email - it was a trojan from a games website my son visited. Something popped up that said something about the computer being infected (totally bogus, of course) - and my darling son decided to click on the link that said 'Yes! Clean my computer!' or something like that.

I managed to get rid of it in the end by removing my existing antivirus protection (McAfee) and downloading a brand new one (Kapersky). So far, so good...

 

[Jax_Teller]

Hope it wasn't me

I hope your not talking about Me. I did send you a MS Works file, and you told to reformat it and send it . I did what you said. I have 3 different spy ware anti bot, and other programs. I run CCleaner, and two other cleaners every day. Please tell me this wasn't me.

 

[AsylumSeeker]

I have security software that scans everything before downloading. There are various types out there. I have had luck with Norton, nothing has gottenpast it yet, and it auto-updates every time you go on the web so it's always up to date. Just a thought.

 

[Raisa_Greywood]

I've been using a browser based "disposable" email for any editing I do. It's not foolproof, but it does provide an extra check on documents. Gmail, hotmail, yahoo are all free and reasonably easy to use. I also like it because it keeps my 'personal' and 'kink' life separate. I do think it's more common to get infected with ick visiting websites though. I almost wonder if those kid's games sites are more prone to it than even the porn sites. My daughter has gotten 2 or 3 on her computer in the last few months. It was definitely a valuable learning experience for her, and she's much more wary about things like that. We all should be.

Actually, come to think of it, even my personal and work emails are browser based. I haven't even opened Outlook on either of the last two computers I've bought. I quit using any standalone email years ago when I got a virus from a family member. Inadvertent, of course, but still annoying.

 

[AsylumSeeker]

I've been using a browser based "disposable" email for any editing I do. It's not foolproof, but it does provide an extra check on documents. Gmail, hotmail, yahoo are all free and reasonably easy to use. I also like it because it keeps my 'personal' and 'kink' life separate. I do think it's more common to get infected with ick visiting websites though. I almost wonder if those kid's games sites are more prone to it than even the porn sites. My daughter has gotten 2 or 3 on her computer in the last few months. It was definitely a valuable learning experience for her, and she's much more wary about things like that. We all should be.

Actually, come to think of it, even my personal and work emails are browser based. I haven't even opened Outlook on either of the last two computers I've bought. I quit using any standalone email years ago when I got a virus from a family member. Inadvertent, of course, but still annoying.

Okay, great