I know we can rant on all day about how this never should have happened, but let's be a bit more productive and inform users how to protect themselves against this Love Letter Virus.
For this virus to work, it needs to run inside the Windows Scripting Host, which is sorta like a shell with UI.
The best way to protect your computer is to take 2 steps: 1) Close down all your open (writable) shares. If somebody has mapped a share on your drive to a drive letter on their computer, they can cause the files in that share to be overwritten by this virus (*.MP3, *.JPG, *.CSS to mention a few). So even your SAMBA shares aren't safe if they allow users to write on them. 2) If you are on a Windows 9x/ NT / 2000 / ME machine, go to your system directory and change the name of your Windows Scripting Host executable from wscript.exe to something like _wscript.exe. This makes sure that whenever your system tries to find the Windows Scripting Host for running any VBScript on your system, it can't find the EXE.
To see if any of your files got infected on a Windows Box, scan all your drives for a file with the.vbs extension and containing the text ispyder@mail.com. Don't run the files, just delete them. You should also look into cleaning some registry entries, and perhaps also deleting a file called WIN-BUGFIX.EXE.
If you have a choice between buying a 80 horse power car and the exact same model but then with a 120 horse power engine, for exactly the same price, wouldn't you want to go with the 120 horse power version ? Or would that be too cheap, and would you voluntarily pay more money, if only to support the economy ?
Granted, it's not exactly the same as the situation. Suppose you'd buy a car with 80 horse power, and get the extra hardware to chip tune your car upto 120 horse power. By chip tuning it, you'd void your warrenty on the engine of the car, but you know that 99 % of the people who have done the procedure never had any trouble with their engine. You know that on average, your engine will last shorter. On the other hand, it's also a well known fact that the life expectancy of the rest of the car is still lower then that of a chip tuned engine.
Now you have to make a choice....
Did you notice that word? I'll repeat it: choice. That is the key thing here, since it is up to you. If you ask others for advice, gather the real information and ignore the subjective oppinions.
So what if somebody thinks it's cheap? If you feel confortable with taking a short cut, then go for it.
On the other hand, so what if somebody thinks you're being stupid by choosing the safest path? If that is what you think is best, then ignore any comments on that.
Some last info: I run a Pentium 75 on 90 MHz for years now without a glitch. I did invest in solid hardware though, so in the end, the price was about the same, but I feel more confident about having name brand components with good support.
The Celeron is both in normal as in overclocked situations a good chip in price/performance. If you cannot afford the fastest CPU on the block but still want solid hardware and a clear upgrade path, this is your best choice, both overclocked as at the normal clock speed.
You say yourself that Bill Gates once made the same mistake, and still you persist in your oppinion.
Whatever resources we can only dream of having now, in 10 years it won't be enough.
And even only from a PR standpoint, it is a good thing. Not too long ago Microsoft put up a page with 'Linux myths' on their site, trying to take the wind out of Linux's sails. One ot it's arguements was that, because Linux could address a smaller ammount of memory then Windows NT, it was less suited for an enterprise environment.
If Linux supports more memory then you'll ever need at that time, it shows that the Linux movement is committed to support even the most extreme and demanding applications, which is a good thing.
If there is room for improvement, use it. Limiting yourself will only hurt you later.
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I know we can rant on all day about how this never should have happened, but let's be a bit more productive and inform users how to protect themselves against this Love Letter Virus.
.vbs extension and containing the text ispyder@mail.com. Don't run the files, just delete them. You should also look into cleaning some registry entries, and perhaps also deleting a file called WIN-BUGFIX.EXE.
For this virus to work, it needs to run inside the Windows Scripting Host, which is sorta like a shell with UI.
The best way to protect your computer is to take 2 steps:
1) Close down all your open (writable) shares. If somebody has mapped a share on your drive to a drive letter on their computer, they can cause the files in that share to be overwritten by this virus (*.MP3, *.JPG, *.CSS to mention a few). So even your SAMBA shares aren't safe if they allow users to write on them.
2) If you are on a Windows 9x/ NT / 2000 / ME machine, go to your system directory and change the name of your Windows Scripting Host executable from wscript.exe to something like _wscript.exe. This makes sure that whenever your system tries to find the Windows Scripting Host for running any VBScript on your system, it can't find the EXE.
To see if any of your files got infected on a Windows Box, scan all your drives for a file with the
I hope this helps. Good luck!
If you have a choice between buying a 80 horse power car and the exact same model but then with a 120 horse power engine, for exactly the same price, wouldn't you want to go with the 120 horse power version ? Or would that be too cheap, and would you voluntarily pay more money, if only to support the economy ?
Granted, it's not exactly the same as the situation. Suppose you'd buy a car with 80 horse power, and get the extra hardware to chip tune your car upto 120 horse power. By chip tuning it, you'd void your warrenty on the engine of the car, but you know that 99 % of the people who have done the procedure never had any trouble with their engine. You know that on average, your engine will last shorter. On the other hand, it's also a well known fact that the life expectancy of the rest of the car is still lower then that of a chip tuned engine.
Now you have to make a choice ....
Did you notice that word? I'll repeat it: choice. That is the key thing here, since it is up to you. If you ask others for advice, gather the real information and ignore the subjective oppinions.
So what if somebody thinks it's cheap? If you feel confortable with taking a short cut, then go for it.
On the other hand, so what if somebody thinks you're being stupid by choosing the safest path? If that is what you think is best, then ignore any comments on that.
Some last info: I run a Pentium 75 on 90 MHz for years now without a glitch. I did invest in solid hardware though, so in the end, the price was about the same, but I feel more confident about having name brand components with good support.
The Celeron is both in normal as in overclocked situations a good chip in price/performance. If you cannot afford the fastest CPU on the block but still want solid hardware and a clear upgrade path, this is your best choice, both overclocked as at the normal clock speed.
Whatever resources we can only dream of having now, in 10 years it won't be enough.
And even only from a PR standpoint, it is a good thing. Not too long ago Microsoft put up a page with 'Linux myths' on their site, trying to take the wind out of Linux's sails. One ot it's arguements was that, because Linux could address a smaller ammount of memory then Windows NT, it was less suited for an enterprise environment.
If Linux supports more memory then you'll ever need at that time, it shows that the Linux movement is committed to support even the most extreme and demanding applications, which is a good thing.
If there is room for improvement, use it. Limiting yourself will only hurt you later.