I'm thinking about sending out a mass e-mail telling people to look for a c:/windows folder on their hard drives and telling them to delete it if they find it because it contains the gullible virus.

I just got the delete jdbgmgr.exe file hoax for about the fifth time. It's baffling how people believe everything they're told via e-mail. Sheesh..at least do a search to see if the threat is legitimate.

Thank God for virus scanners though. I've blocked the Klez virus a lot lately.

I have to admit that at one time when I got an email from someone who I knew actually liked me, warning me of a virus, I would think they were being kind.
Since that time, I have learned to do the search, because there are so many hoaxes.

I have to wonder why there are so many people without virus protection? Spend over $500 for a pc, (some people buy cheap comptuers. but most are at least over $500) and then not pay $30 for virus protection. That is like buying a new car and not getting insurance....just different price ranges.

I paid a lot more than $500 for my pc, but really..if you do get a nasty virus, all you have to replace is a hard drive. It's all the lost info stored on it that really upsets you.

I guess most people don't take virus protection seriously until they get burned themselves. I lost a hard drive to the monkey virus on my old 486 computer..and that was before I was even on-line. Now, with the internet, it's foolhardy not to have updated virus protection. Firewall protection too. At least you can feel reasonably safe that way for about 100 bucks (Can) a year.

I just wish people would think before passing things on to friends that could potentially do more harm than good.

Norton is awesome, it just checks as email comes in.

Better than Jackie Gleason?

Yeah, I like Norton much better than McAfee. I had software conflicts with some of their products and they packaged something called Webscan X separate from antivirus software which should probably have been incorporated into it instead.

I got a virus with Norton, so I switched to Mcafee.
It was that stupid snow white virus, and it went into my norton protected files. Don't ask me how that happened...but it did. So that was the end of Norton for me.

Norton blocks that one for me. It's been well over a year since I've been sent that one. You mean you opened the file? What's the virus do? Your best bet is to not open file attachments from sources you don't know and trust.

That Snowhyte one looks suspicious just from the text inside it.

I got that virus from my husband's son. Apparently it was sent to them and his wife opened it and it sent it to everyone in their address book. Because it was new and I had not heard of it yet, and they sent attachments all the time, I opened it.
My pc locked up like it was on death row.
I immediately went to my son's pc, and did a search and started swearing like a sailor when I found out it was a virus. I managed to find a virus removal site on line, and by some miracle, was able to get to the site on my pc, and start the removal. It had went into 39 files on my pc and destroyed all the jpg's on my hard drive. (I lost my pic of you *sniffle*)
Anyway, this site got it out of my computer, and it didn't attach itself to my address book. (Thank God)
I shut off my pc, went to staples and bought McAfee. My pc doesn't run good now, it is slow, but it still works for now.
I am looking to get a new one soon.

any virus getting into Norton's protected files would be when you have it set at disabled. Once enabled and updated daily with live updates, nothing can attack Norton.

I lost my entire harddrive to McAffee, which disabled itself and allowed an attack.

Why wasn't your husband's son's pc fried? They were able to send it to you after opening it. I guess more and more damage accumulated each time you booted up.

Actually Norton Antivirus 2001 kept on giving me headaches. It often changed my pop server settings from sympatico to norton for no apparent reason. I'd have to go into my e-mail settings and change it back. Each time, my e-mail virus protection was automatically disabled and I'd have to remember to reset it. Maybe something like that happened to Candy. I have no problems with NAV 2002 though.

Well I updated my Norton all the time. If any part of it was disabled, it was not known to me. I didn't disable it.
I had Dr. Solomon's before Norton and no problems.
I do not say any software program is any better than another, all I know is my own experience. Norton failed me and I have no idea why. I still use Norton utilities, just not the virus protection. Maybe I will get burnt again, who knows. McAfee has caught about a dozen viruses for me in the past month, so far so good.
And it updates itself, which is a bonus.

I don't know why this virus went into my norton protected files instead of attaching and emailing itself to everyone in my address book.
I got it from my stepson, because it attached itself to his address book and then emailed itself to everyone on his list. It didn't do that to me. I was worried and used my son's pc to email everyone in my address book and tell them if they got a virus from me what had happened to me. Do you remember that Rick? Anyway, most everyone wrote me back to tell me they didn't get any email from me, which was a huge relief.

When my McAffee disabled itself.....files went out to everyone.

Yeah, I remember now that you mention it, Candy. People who create viruses are obviously intelligent. Why don't they use their skills doing something useful? Where's the joy in screwing up the computers of people they don't even know? They don't even get recognized for their dirty work unless they get caught. And if they do, they're in deep shit. Stupid.

I got sent those e-mail from you, if you remember, Shorti. Nasty Word virus, it was.

Yes virus makers are intelligent. I believe they do not use their skills doing something useful because they are just downright evil.
I don't think my norton was disabled. If it were disabled, then the virus should have went to my email address book and emailed itself all over the place. It didn't, so maybe there was a glitch in my norton software? We will never know.
I don't care what kind of virus protection I have as long as it works. Unless one of the companies that makes the software starts sending me checks, none are better than the other to me. Nothing in this world is perfect.

Why'd you switch from Dr. Solomon's in the first place if you had no problems with it? CNET seems to think highly of both Norton and McAfee and states, "There's no better virus killer than Norton AntiVirus."

I had solomon's on my old pc. McAfee came with my new pc but was just a trial offer. I got Norton System works 2000 and just used the virus protection that is included with it instead of buying McAfee or loading up Solomon's. I had given the Solomon's away when I got the Norton.

I hope there won't be a test on all that.

My pc wouldn't boot up yesterday. I kept getting a boot disk failure. Apparently these portable drive bays I got aren't the greatest quality. Thank God I have a friend who's a technician. I owe him big time!

It's always puzzled me why intelligent people waste time with creating viruses.

A lot of people just have that malicious side to them. They just want to see how destructive they can be and what they can get away with. I heard somewhere about hackers bragging about what they've done in underground chatrooms..and I guess there's some one-up-manship involved. Plus a lot of people hate corporations like Microsoft and try to exploit flaws in Windows, IE, Word, and Outlook..and there are a lot of flaws.

But yeah..in the end, they should be putting their talents to better use.

When you really think about it, it's sick, isn't it? I just can't handle the whole idea. It's just crazy....all that intelligence and nothing to show for it.

Well..most of them probably fit the typical geek stereotype-no girlfriend, few friends, no life..therefore they have plenty of time to hack. A lot of them are probably students and aren't quite ready to get jobs. I dunno..it is a waste though.

Funny, I just watched Sneakers. Robert Redford's character hacked into Richard Nixon's and the Republican party's bank accounts and redirected their funds to Greenpeace and such when he was in college. But I guess that's more of a noble act, albeit an illegal one, but at least it wasn't a destructive act with the intent of harming innocent people.