This I received today,and I think we should be aware of this. Please do not
send other virus notes to Lactnet, but in light of the past experiences with
Happy99 Exe, I 'd like to nip this in the bud.

Kathleen

---------------
Worm.ExploreZip
---------------

By now, you have probably heard about the "Worm.ExploreZip" virus.
According to Microsoft,

     [t]he virus is contained in a file attached to an e-mail.  The e-
     mail message may appear as if it is from an acquaintance and will
     contain the following text:

          Hi <recipient's name>
          I received your email and I shall send you a reply ASAP.
          Till then, take a look at the attached zipped docs.
          Bye.

     The attachment to this message is an executable file named
     "zipped_files.exe".

     [quote borrowed from the nice folks at
     http://www.microsoft.com/misc/data/emailvirusalert.htm ]

If you execute the "zipped_files.exe" file, it will do some nasty
things to your computer ... like erase all of your Microsoft Word and
PowerPoint files, and even propagate itself by sending email with the
infected "zipped_files.exe" file to a number of recipients.

Who is vulnerable?  According to the Computer Emergency Response Team
(CERT) at Carnegie Mellon University, this virus affects everyone who
uses Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT.  You can read CERT's
advisory on this virus (CERT calls it a Trojan Horse, everyone else
calls it a worm virus) at

<A HREF="http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-99-06-explorezip.html">
http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-99-06-explorezip.html </A>.

ZDNN reports that some Mac users may also be vulnerable.  According to
Carey Nachenberg, chief researcher at Symantec Corp.'s AntiVirus
Research Center, Macs must meet a narrow set of criteria to be
vulnerable to the computer virus:

     A Mac must be connected to an infected Windows computer
     over a file-sharing network, he said, or the malicious e-mail
     file must have been opened through a PC-emulation program.

     In addition, he said, the names of the vulnerable Mac files must
     bear Windows-compatible file-name extensions, such as .doc, .ppt,
     .hsm, .xls and others.

    [for the full story, read "Macs can contract ExploreZip, too!" at
    http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2274574,00.html ]

Regardless of your operating system, how can you protect yourself from
the Worm.ExploreZip virus (and from the tens of thousand of other
viruses out there)?  Well ...

     1. BREATHE!  This really isn't as bad as you might think (or as
        the media would have you believe).

     2. UPDATE YOUR VIRUS DEFINITIONS IMMEDIATELY, AND CONTINUE TO
        UPDATE YOUR VIRUS DEFINITIONS ON A REGULAR SCHEDULE (AT LEAST
        ONCE A WEEK).  Every major antivirus software manufacturer has
        released a virus update that recognizes and removes the
        Worm.ExploreZip virus.  If you are unsure of how to update
        your virus definitions, visit the homepage of your antivirus
        software manufacturer (you can find a complete list of most of
        these manufacturers at http://www.yahoo.com/ -- AOL users can
        find more information by visiting keyword "virus").

        If you don't have an antivirus program installed on your
        computer, STOP READING THIS EMAIL, get into your car, drive to
        Wal Mart (or your local software store), and buy yourself the
        latest copy of Norton AntiVirus.

     3. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER (ARE YOU STARTING TO SEE A PATTERN
        HERE?), NEVER EVER DOUBLE-CLICK (OR LAUNCH) *ANY* FILE,
        ESPECIALLY AN EMAIL ATTACHMENT, REGARDLESS OF WHO THE FILE IS
        FROM, UNTIL YOU FIRST SCAN THAT FILE WITH YOUR ANTIVIRUS
        PROGRAM.

        To survive in this digital age, you have to treat all computer
        files downloaded from the Net, and especially all files
        attached to email letters, as the digital equivalent of letter
        bombs.  Open one without first verifying its contents, and you
        will die.

... well, your computer will die.  You get the point.  :)


Kathleen B. Bruce, BSN, IBCLC co-owner Lactnet,TLC, Indep. Consultant
Williston, Vermont
mailto:[log in to unmask]
LACTNET Archives http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/lactnet.html

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html