HIT: A question about viruses and email

[Gloria Pitsley <Glolyn@AOL.COM>]

Thanks to all who responded to my question regarding viruses in email!
   Following is a list of responses:


>>I was under the impression that a virus could not "infect" your system
unless
>>you "ran" some sort of executable file that contained the offending virus.

>Correct.

>> You can infect your system just by opening email and not downloading and
>>running an attached file with the e-mail?

>NO WAY. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone checked like you have, instead of
>just passing on the hoax messages??

Joyce Conklin           jconkli@ed.co.sanmateo.ca.us
Automation Consultant
San Mateo Union High School Dist. (ret.)
San Mateo CA 94403

******************************************
>As a general rule, you're right. Unless you run an executable program, you
>cannot infect your system with a virus. There is a fairly new class of
>viruses which can be embedded within MS Word macro statements that can be
>launched if you have MS Word on your machine... Again, you'd have to open
>that attached MS Word file, but with folks using Microsoft's e-mail
>software, that's what Microsoft's trying to get people to use as their
>e-mail editor so it's becoming a little more common to see MS Word
>attachments.

>Anyway, if you have any questions about computer virus problems, you can
>always check the Computer Virus Myths page at
><http://www.kumite.com/myths>, a really great resource for information on
>all of this stuff.

>....brig

Brig C. McCoy                    - Automation Consultant
Southeast Kansas Library System  - BRIGC@WORLD.STD.COM
218 East Madison Street          - 316 365-5136
Iola, KS  66749                  - 316 365-5137, Fax

***************************************************
>...get a good virus
>checker (software) that comes with updates.

>Amy

Amy Stultz
FSU School of Information Studies
ads3459@garnet.acns.fsu.edu
******************************************************
>> You can infect your system just by opening email and not
>> downloading and running an attached file with the e-mail?

>No ... yes ... no ... yes ...

>What a wishywashy answer ... let me explain.  There is a relatively
>new (2-3 years) breed of "macro" virii.  If your email client is
>setup to call a "helper application" ... such as Word or Excel (2 for
>which I'mn pretty sure those virii exist), the macro can be the
>autoexec macro ... and will, indeed, execute.  Thus, to be more sure
>(I'm NEVER positive) of not having this sort of problem, configure
>your mail reading application to NOT open any applications to help,
>except, perhaps, the http and mailto thingies.

George Bynum
Electrohydraulics Engineering Support
gbynum@worldnet.att.net 864.292.0382 home
gbynum@crossco.com   864.288.6141 work
*************************************
>1. Regular, plain-text e-mail letters -- the plain old vanilla e-mail
letters
>(like this one) that you receive every day -- can *NOT* contain viruses or
>Trojan horses. Period.  It does not matter what you may have heard from your
>friends, co-workers, newspaper, government, or religious leaders.  Plain
>e-mail letters can not contain viruses or Trojan horses.  It does not matter
>WHAT the subject line of the letter is -- "Good Times," "PenPal Greetings,"
>"Deeyenda," "Irina," "AOL4FREE," "I AM A REALLY MEAN VIRUS AND I AM >GOING
TO EAT YOUR HARD DRIVE"-- plain text e-mail letters simply can not >contain
viruses or Trojan horses.  If anyone tells you otherwise, they are either
>lying or are badly misinformed.

>2. Files that are attached to e-mail letters -- like Lotus or Excel
>spreadsheet files and *especially* Microsoft Word files -- can, and probably
>do, contain viruses and Trojan horses.  How can you protect yourself?  VIRUS
>CHECK EVERY SINGLE ATTACHMENT THAT YOU RECEIVE THROUGH E-MAIL >(AND EVERY
>SINGLE FILE THAT YOU DOWNLOAD FROM THE INTERNET).  If your boss, best
>friend, worst enemy, family pet, significant other, insignificant other,
teacher,
>tribal member, or political leader sends you a file attached to an e-mail
>document, VIRUS CHECK THAT FILE.  It does not matter what the subject line
of
>the e-mail letter to which that file is attached is called. VIRUS CHECK THAT
>FILE!

>I hope this clears things up.  :)

> A Technology Integration Teacher in NY

************
Gloria L. Pitsley
First Year LMS !!!!!
Beacon CSD
Beacon, NY   (about 1 1/4 hrs. north of NYC along the beautiful Hudson river)

glolyn@aol.com

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