YAWV (Yet Another Windows Virus)
So another virus (and a variation of that virus) is making the rounds. It didn’t bother me one bit. My mail server scans file attachments using ClamAV and refuses infected emails.
Since the virus problem was handled automatically you would think I would be happy. I’m not. I’m angry about all the bounce messages saying I tried to send a virus. Who are these idiots running mail servers? NEWS ALERT! All the email viruses released for the last year or so have forged From: addresses. That means you can not bounce the message once you have accepted it. That’s why my server scans the messages before sending the final “accept” signal.
As for virus scanning software for desktops. The companies involved know damn well the bounce messages aren’t going to the correct person. They do it anyway because it lets them get away with spamming. If you’ve noticed, those bounce messages always mention you can download a 30 trial version of their product – with a link to their website. I’ve always believed the the AntiVirus companies were a bit too like spammers. The fact that they have not fixed this problem only reinforces this belief.
Note: I now have some new SpamAssassin rules in place that detects most of the virus bounce messages and refuses them with the message “Unhelpful virus warning”. This seems to be keeping our mailboxes free of these useless messages.
From a technical standpoint, this new virus should not have been dangerous. It doesn’t get automatically executed by Outlook as some have done in the past. Usually, the virus is in a .zip file. That means you have to open the damn attachment and specifically launch the file found inside. How stupid must you be to do that? Yet the virus is infecting systems all over the world, indicating the average computer owner is even dumber than I originally believed.
If you are the type to open random attachments, please install a virus scanner that works with your email software. You can throw away good money, or you can get AVG absolutely free. It integrates with Microsoft Outlook and automatically scans all incoming and outgoing email for viruses. It will even check for virus database updates periodically, as well as do full system scans. I highly recommend the software.
It only integrates with Outlook for email scanning, but is still very useful for general purpose virus scanning. Virus scanning isn’t actually necessary for other mail programs because people who have stopped using Outlook have already proven themselves to be smarter than average.
