IT Queries: Computer problems answered

I received this email from a friend.

FW: HUGE VIRUS COMING!!! PLEASE READ & FORWARD
Hi All,
I checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus!
I checked Snopes (URL above:), and it is for real!!
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=2 0open 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 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. T his 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.

COPY THIS E-MAIL, AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS. REMEMBER: IF YOU SEND IT
TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US

 Is it true or should I just ignore it?

Like all good myths, there’s some truth to this one. A few years ago we had a plague of fake e-mail postcards that used various tricks to infect people’s computers. 

Over time, these stopped working as the software companies fixed the holes in their software. Today the main targets, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Outlook Express, are a lot less susceptable to this method of getting malware onto your computer.

That’s not to say there’s no risk today. As the economic downturn bites we’re seeing a lot of scams appearing in our inboxes and these sort of tricks are among them. The people who make these things are smarter and more cunning as well.

So it’s best to be on the safe side. If you receive any email you think is suspicious, then don’t open it. If it’s from someone you know, contact them to confirm they did send something legitimate.

Given the number of scams around, it’s not a bad idea to run a Windows computer in Limited User mode. This restricts the opportunities for viruses and Trojan horses to get on your computer.

We have instructions on setting up Limited User profiles and we’d recommend this for general computer use to prevent the possiblity of things like fake postcards taking advantage of your computer.

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