Virus Attack - Heads Up

Paypal will also ONLY address you by the name you have the account under. Anything else such as "Dear User" etc. is bogus. I get this one quite a lot. The other one is from Ebay claiming that I need to update my credit card info. Ebay also will only address you by your actual name. Also, Ebay has no CC info from me to begin with.

I get those emails supposedly from ebay and paypal stating that I need to update my account info or else my account will be suspended. I haven't got accounts with either company. When I do get an email apparently comming from a company I do busness with, I never click on the links provided in the email. I go to the home page of that company and check my account through that route.

most of the time if you just move your mouse over the clickable links in the email such as the "respond" button and look in your web browsers status bar you will see the address is BS. instead of

it will be something like http://65.44.54.666/xxx/sextoys/ and that should be your first clue its bogus. if in doubt dont click it.

-- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users. It has removed 85 spam emails to date. Paying users do not have this message in their emails. Try

for free now!

Yea, I've been getting 5-10 a day for a year or two. They mostly get filtered out, but a few slip through. I just ignore them.

I don't use Winblows so I don't care! Maybe someday people will wake up and ditch that POS OS.

And as soon as they do, the weenies that are creating the viruses will go after the remaining operating systems. If I were you, I would pray that the majority of us keep using this POS operating system.

I keep looking for something else, Fred, but haven't found anything that keeps me as happy as this one, even with its problems.

Linux is archaic and unnecessarily complicated. Apple, well, I just can't bring myself to buy one. I like playing with my computer myself and from what I can tell, the Apple just isn't built that way. Were I using my computer for professional graphics, etc., I'd go Apple in a heartbeat. But, until then...

Ed Cregger

Fred-

Is that relevant? I thought all the Email handling and Internet protocols were done in application layers entirely independent of what OS one might be using.

Abel

Chris wrote... I don't use Winblows so I don't care! Maybe someday people will wake up

and ditch that POS OS.

Uh, Chris. You must be using Linux or MAC OS. Do NOT feel superior or compalcent. The real bad guys out there (not the script kiddies or wannabe's) are targetting your operating system. It's just that the flood for WIN/OS is so high, you don't see the sharks floating around. You have been lucky so far.

Adequate firewall and updates kept current Adequate anti-virus and updates kept current Safe and secure practices (ie, not opening e-mail using the preview mode) E-mail from known sources that now use their website's "My Page" and internal messaging, like eBay

I get two to three a day. Open un "Properties", take a peek at the source, cut-and-save message source, foward original message to snipped-for-privacy@ebay.com or snipped-for-privacy@paypal.com, past the source of the original message, send new message, delete old.

My wish right now is a spoof button or toolbar entry that does all of these steps without my intervening.

Nonsense.

There is nothing to admit, we are not bothered by these things, period.

Windows, being the most widely used is the obvious target for the types who

Yup. Enjoy!

Malcolm

Would you be willing to back that up with a friendly wager, say $1000.00?

Before you do, please explain why all the major anti-virus software makers produce Mac versions.

Well if you are not using a MS product, you should have the smarts to write a shell script to do that for you. Easy.

Paul McIntosh top-posted to Fred:

To generate additional revenue. Duh.

"Six_O'Clock_High" > You have been lucky so far.

To my way of thinking, using a particular OS does not indicate whether the user is smart, or otherwise, in spite of the fact that there are those whose hope is that it does.

Present company excluded, of course.

Ed Cregger

If using a non-Windows OS means the person is so smart then why aren't they smart enough to know that the eBay, Paypal, and other similar "phishing" techniques don't use viruses or any other vurnerability,..and that they are just as effective on any OS with any Browser?

The Phishers use "user stupidity" and not technical vulnerabilities. They trick the user into logging in with their "real" credentials on a "fake" site and thereby *capture* the user's credentials. It is an extremely simplistic way of gaining someone's credentials and doesn't have anything to do with Windows. The omniscience & wise non-Windows users using this whole thing as an opportunity to "bash" MS and Windows shows their actual lack of understanding and lack of knowledge.

Oh, do relax, Phillip. There's never a need to be defensive over your choice of operating system.

Aaa..no problem,....I just gotta blow off a little steam once in a while. I just get tired of the mindless "preaching" from the MS Bashers and Gates Haters sometimes, it has practically become a religion to some of them.

He's likely annoyed because it keeps crashing while he is trying to type a reply.

That's why I stopped using it 6 years ago and since parting company with M$ and its products I haven't experienced a single crash/virus/whatever.

A fool is going to fall for `phishing' attacks, social engineering attempts, or whatever, the type of operating system is not relevant.

Lighten up.. go Linux and have more time to yourself instead of re-booting all the time... makes for a far more relaxed outlook.

Linux does become boring after a while as it just runs and runs and.. Gives loads more time for building model planes >:-)

Reg

Go to the Mac groups and see for yourself.

To make money from those who don't know any better.