Due to vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer, Outlook (and possibly
Eudora!) may activate emails if you have "Preview"
enabled.
Therefore, you do not need to physically open an email, or run any
attachment to become infected.
Internet Explorer 6 (and 5.5 sp2 I believe) are not susceptible to this
method of infection... or at least, this particular virus, simply
by previewing the message.
Earlier versions ARE.
Eudora may also be affected, depending on your Internet Explorer version,
because you have the option to use "Microsoft's Viewer" to view
emails.
For those who don't want to fork out the money for a virus killer (like,
they're not really expensive), then make sure you are at least using the
latest Internet Explorer, and that you do not have
"Auto-Preview" email set as an option.
This isn't going to make you immune to virii, but it is going to reduce
the risk.
J.
At 18:53 01/12/2001, Ross Viner wrote:
The e-mails I received did not
indicate there was an attachment - BUT THERE
WAS. I suspect what has been happening here, is some people did not
see an
"icon" therefore assumed there was no attachment. But
when asked to open
anything, they said yes - not thinking it was in reference to an
attachment.
To further the issue, they MAY have settings that automatically
open
attachments (hidden or not).
I know some disagree, but I still think you have to ACTIVATE a
virus. That
is at least open a file, that contains the virus. Outside of small
lesson I
learned a little while back, I've never been infected. And I open
all kinds
of e-mail. But if it prompts me at all to open anything else, I say
"no"
and delete the mail immediately.
As for the virus I encountered I still never got infected as when
prompted
to open the attachment (even though there appeared to me no attachment)
I
declined, deleting the e-mail immediately. Lesson in point, if you
are
suspicious at all of an e-mail, that acts or looks strangely at all,
simply
decline any prompting asking you to open it (or anything else), and
permanently delete the mail in question.
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