Pay Pal Virus Scam

Read This....http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,113478,tk,wb111703x,00.asp.

J. M.

 

My ISP choked when I opened OE this morning. Went to the server, and there were two of them. When I deleted them off of the server, I was able to get most of my mail as usual. I was surprised Postini (a virus and spam filter my ISP uses) didn't pick them up, but I was pleased they never made it past the server. If they had, I would like to assume Norton would have flagged them...but who knows? Anyway, go here for more information, and do not open anything from Paypal with a pif attachment (You OE users DO have your Preview Panes disabled, right?) , and keep your virus definitions up to date.

This thing is particularly insulting because it asks the user for information, and depends on the user to supply it. Then it reports back to home.

Johanna

 

Good question, and I don't know the answer. I allow OE to accept all files (that box is NOT ticked) because I do receive and send exe files and the like, from trusted sources. I have always assumed Norton would jump on anything malicious, but I've got a good ISP filter, and been lucky, so it's never been tested. Quick, Christer, send me a bad guy by email, and we'll see what happens!

Johanna

who did all her backups this morning...

 

What you you folks say if I were to suggest the installation of MailWasher and something other than OE for e-mail.

With OE almost everybodys e-mail and address book etc. are in the same default location with same names.

With something like Eudora you can put it where ever you wish. Mine is on a partition other than C: and has been for YEARS. And the same version as I had in Win98.

And it don't get messed up if I should have to the dreaded FORMAT. I may have to re-install to get a couple of files into the reg. But otherwise I lose nothing.

I do not even have OE setup for use.

MailWasher can be used to pre-screen mail right on the server and it will never reach your machine. And MailWasher will not open files.

Bottom line ( mine at least )
There are some very good alternative to MS stuff. And I myself find every darned one I can.

BillyBob

 

Actually, you can store your address book and DBX files anywhere you want with OE. Mine are on my second partition. In fact, the WAB (Windows address book) and the dbx files are in a folder in My Docs, just so I don't forget to burn them when I do my regular backups. In all my crashes, accidental, hardware or operator related, I have never lost the data on my second partition without me making the decision to wipe it. My ISP gives me Postini for free, and I use the Spam feature on Norton IS, so, for me, more mail filtering would be redundant.

Christer,
I get too many attachments (I'm a leatherworker, and we send patterns and pics all day on the leather lists) to fool around with permissions, so I just don't use the preview pane. I usually read email straight through in their folders. I put a delete button on the toolbar, and when I click on the message, it's deleted and the next in line opens automatically. If I want to keep it, I click out and open the next one. I use the message rules, too, so the mail stays fairly well sorted. Because the preview pane is the default, I think people don't realize they can shut it off. I think there are also two separate places you have to go to shut it off. Now that pictures are being imbedded in emails by default, what makes the preview pane more convenient for you? I think it's neat that we all have our own ways of doing things, and I like to know WHY because that's how I learn stuff.

Johanna

PS You can send any bad guy here you want, as long as it's not a MEDICAL virus, because all 4 kids have snotty noses and bad attitudes today, and if we have to go through another round of the flu, I'm gonna get sick again, too! I could be unconscious, laying on the floor, and they would want more milk, and what time is it? and can you fix the tv/ wipe me/ tie my shoe/ put the wheels back on my truck/MOM, I'm HUNGRY!

 

Johanna

From your reply I get the strong impression that you have things under much better control ( YOURS ) than most users.

I do very much like to read that you do not lose your e-mail stuff if the OS should go to Hades.

And yes. When we do say WHY we do what we do it does help to understand.

BTW. I just found out the OE is installed on here. I just do not use it.

BillyBob

 

... but not *.doc, *.xls and others considered unsafe ...

Suggestion Christer - download the free Word and Excel viewers from Microsoft and set them as the default to open .doc and .xls apps. Nothing can do damage from a viewer session.

For documents and spread sheets you need to work with, you can either select to have the viewer pass them to the real app or else open the app and then open a file.

 

I won't say they can't be found but it is a little tougher.

Why I prefer Eudora.

The one thing I like the best about Eudora is that it is in no way dependent on the version of Windows and/or IE that is being used.

I can 100% backup that statement since I am using the same version of Eudora from the same E: drive that I used in the Original Win98. I sure have gotten my moneys worth out of it.

In fact I think I have only upgraded Eudora once since Win 95. It is still on the same partition as it was in 98FE.

And I have upgrade 98FE to ME ( bad mistake on my part ) back to 98, up 98SE and now up to XP Pro. Eudora has not even BLINKED.

Eudora also has a preview pane. And I have not found anything that it won't do.

Eudora is a 98% standalone app.

And by using MailWasher to pre-screen mail I can keep a LOT of TRASH off of my machine.

BillyBob

 

Newt- slick idea on the viewers. Didn't Shadowhawk just recently post about not wanting to open the whole program just to view a file? The free viewers never crossed my mind! (Well, neither did opening the program to find a file, either, or worrying about not having enough resources!)


BB
XP Home and Pro come with OE as the default email client. I've tried other mail clients, and OE is just plain easy and convenient. OE opens links and attachments dependably. Once you move everything off the OS drive, it seems reliable. JMO

Johanna

 

I really think you would find Eudorar to do the same.

Just after my other reply I upgraded from 5.2 to 6.1. Now I gotta find out what the new things do.

BillyBob

 

Back to the PayPal Spoof

I have now deleted a total of 12 Paypal spoofs off of the server so that I could get my mail. The server freezes when it gets to them, and they always come in pairs. It is getting annoying- I get 350+ emails a day and I don't need the server at my ISP choking and hiccupping my mail. I fired off an email to my ISP yesterday, and have not heard a word. I can just imagine the phone calls they are getting from people who don't know how to retrieve or clear email from their server! Why is Postini not picking these up? Why hasn't my ISP identified the spoof and blocked them? Grrrr...

I kinda like the M$ Bounty on writers of these nuisances. I think the ISPs could do a better job of tracking their sources, and shutting them down, if they really wanted to. Oh, well, they would have to COOPERATE to do that, huh? Not likely!

J hanna