Virus/Malware

So many of our customers come in with viruses. The question is usually "What did I do to get this virus?" The answers are varied. Here is an email I received today from a fellow technician. This is a common way to become infected. Please use caution when clicking on links contained in an email message. Especially if you do not know who the sender is.

Here is the message my friend received today, please read and take notice:

"If you receive an email, from anyone, with the subject line of “Here you have” it will contain a link to a malicious website that will infect your computer with a virus/malware. The email is not stopped by virus/malware filtering because the email doesn’t contain the virus/malware, but only a link to a website containing the virus/malware. The email is poorly worded yet tens of thousands of people have clicked on the link and infected their computers. This is not a new attack per se, the same subject line was used in 2001 with the Anna Kournikova virus. The virus/malware has already taken on new variations, and the subject line can be different that what is stated above. I’m trying to institute some additional measures here to protect us but the first line of defense belongs to the users. Remember, do not blindly follow links in emails, no matter who the sender is. Remember, most viruses and malware use the address book of the infected person to send itself out to other potential victims. This is why you can get an infected email from someone you actually know.

Currently NASA, ABC News, Wells Fargo, Procter & Gamble, Disney, Florida Dept of Transportation, and Comcast are battling infection because some of their users followed the link and infected their networks."