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Nasty New Virus Variants
Lucidus writes "Numerous journals, such as Mac Daily News and The Motley Fool, are reporting that the latest versions of the Beagle/Bagle virus can infect users' computers whether or not they open an attachment. Apparently, the simple act of selecting the message activates the code. Given that you have to select an E-mail to delete it, how are users supposed to protect themselves from this one?"
Right-click
err...
One word, hyphenated.
I head straight to the Motley Fool. Likewise, when I want financial info, I'm on Slashdot.
Bagle virus with cream cheese
Given that you have to select an E-mail to delete it, how are users supposed to protect themselves from this one?
place 2 other junk emails around it, select the top 1, hold shift, select the bottom one.... DELETE.
d. Read your mail on someone else's computer
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
And what does it cost each time an infection breaks out?
I'm glad you don't work for us. Go back to the accounting department where you crawled out from.
You forgot to close the tags! Now, the rest of Slashdot will be anti-windows, pro-linux/mac...oh, wait...
"Proudly Posting Without Reading The Article"
If they are, I'm not worried.
It occurs to me that both of the articles in the post are extremely light on facts. Furthermore, one of them has the rather pithy headline "Five new Windows Bagle virus variants break nasty new ground; Macintosh unaffected". Frankly, I don't care enough about the story to go hunting for news from appropriate sources like Symantec or McAffee, but it would be nice to see /. posters and/or editors go the extra mile to get out there and find information that is slightly higher than tabloid-quality.
Normally, I would bite my tongue on something like this, but it seems pretty obvious that in this case, the underlying theme of the article is "ha ha, isn't Microsoft terrible", which is pretty juvenile and meaningless. Here's a company that provided - in October - a working patch to prevent the flaw that is exploited by this virus. I'd say that's pretty reasonable, given the circumstances.
[Cue flames.]
...Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.
Churchill
You should try extorting sex for fixing women's computers. You'd be surprised how often it works. ^_^
might I also add that closing off the bold tag is usually a good thing too :-\
General knowledge... and a whole lot of voodoo! -matthew
"THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ME." -Death
Why do Windows users get all the good viruses? You people do know us Mac users are still alive, right?
Don't use Outlook/OE.
There are tons of other options out there that aren't vulnerable, such as Mozilla and Thunderbird.
Thank you for telling me this!! As a Slashdot reader, I never would have known that Microsoft's products suck and far superior open source equivalents exist!
Everything I ever read on Slashdot has been pro-MS propaganda until your brilliant comment escorted me out of the cave of ignorance to the enlightened world above!
My eternal thanks.
pi = 3.141592653589793helpimtrappedinauniversefactory7
There's something just a little ironic about calling "Visual Basic for Applications" full power =)
It's astonishing that you can do anything useful in it, let alone write a virus in it.
Video meliora proboque deteriora sequor - Ovidius
So what you're saying is that Windows isn't ready for the desktop of an average user yet.
~ a low user id is no indication I have a clue what I'm talking about.
Perhaps it's really only "full power" in the sense that it's given the power to clobber your stuff. To me it brings to mind a visual of a child being handed a flamethrower. Sure, he can use it, but shouldn't such things be restricted to adults?
If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
that virus WRITERS are not auto executing!!!
Crisis is the rule, not the exception.
Sure. Just install a good software firewall like Black Ice, and you're good to put that Windows box on the Internet.
http://www.securityfocus.com/news/8291
If a user does not know how to run a windows machine (keeping up to date on patches, running antivirus software, etc) then please explain to me how they'll be able to admin a linux machine.
No idea. An unfortunately MacOS X is also well known for it's extreme complexity and difficulty to use.
Jedidiah.
Craft Beer Programming T-shirts
this is why I check my email on other people's computers...
Maybe you do...
...I think he meant strip out Outlook too :).
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
"Remember, back in the old days, when viruses were first learning to use email, and they'd just attach themselves to whatever outgoing messages you'd send?"
No, I don't really remember those days. I used a Mac.
--Richard
That's great there. You endorse a product which is broken on your box.
I got some nice swamp land in Florida for you if you're interested.
There's only one sensible place for pr0n: usenet.
Mix the failings of Usenet with the shortcomings of the World Wide Web and the result is slashdot.
It'll become a word if people keep using it enough.
Virii virii virii!
Let's just eliminate email all together. That'd work.
Does anyone have some tips for running these under Wine? I know that I can install Outlook XP under Crossover, with full support in Crossover 3.0 which is coming out soon, but I'm not sure if it supports these viruses yet. I know that Wine supports Sircam, but unfortunately there isn't a virus section in the appdb yet. I think the Wine devs don't get it. We run Wine for the full "MS Windows Experience", not just the software.
Given that you have to select an E-mail to delete it, how are users supposed to protect themselves from this one?
Easy, I'll just select and delete it really fast.
-Colin
No, I don't really remember those days. I used a Mac.
Given how clunky MacOS was (before OS X, which is rather good), I assume the reason you don't remember those days is that you've blotted out the horror?
I have a very badly broken access DB
Sounds like it's working normally then. I'd get some sleep if I were you.
"Those who cast the votes decide nothing; those who count the votes decide everything." (attrib. Joseph Stalin)
Woh!
;)
Stop that crap right now! People that can use there head...neh, their brain, have no place on slashdot! Now, get the hell out of here!
Don't worry, the guy you're replying to is probably a closet Win users.
Cheers!
AMEN!!
Having users run as root / administrator all the time is a major issue for any OS, and our admin spends a good portion of his time fixing issues that ultimately stem from a dumb user doing something stupid.
My favorite:
We had a user, we'll call her T.
T called out admin three or four times a day. Every time a dialog box came up she would call for help. This included calls every time IE couldn't find a web site. Finally he told her to stop calling for minor problems, and not to call for trivial issues anymore.
The first dialog she ignores is the Norton Antivirus error message telling her that she's opening an infected attachment.
And thus a new virus hits our network.
"Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
Lucky you, I just checked and I'm infected with Outlook sure enough!
Revolutionary? What are you, some kind of marketer?
And that's why I've always had the Preview pain switched off.
That's such an apt mis-spelling.
"Our interests are to see if we can't scale it up to something more exciting," he said.
It wasn't accidental. Every year or so someone says that only paranoids keep it turned off and that it's safe to go back into the water. I nod and wait for the body parts to wash up on the beach. Again.
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.