Beware of any messages with any kind of executable attachment, period !
There are numerous viruses currently making the rounds that are quite
sneaky : they will cobble together a message (which varies from time to
time, even sometimes in a different language), and attach a file with a
random name (whatever it happens to find on your hard drive), then send
it to a random entry from your address book or inbox. Every message
sent is a bit different, so you cannot just look for specific file names
(like hewlett gears).
IMO (shared by many sys admins) the best first-line defense against this
sort of thing is not to run Outlook or Outlook Express. There are lots
of other email clients that are much safer (mostly because they present
a much smaller target for hackers).
Second-line is a good anti-virus program, like Norton or McAfee (not an
endorsement, there are lots of others), that gets updated _frequently_.
Third line is being very suspicious of anything that shows up with an
unfamiliar, or executable (exe, vbs, scr, com, etc.) file extension.
Even if the message claims it's nude pictures of Jennifer Lopez, chances
are very good it's a virus.
Randall
Frank Axelrod wrote:
>
> beware of any messages with an attatchment called hewlett gears...this puppy
> will send it to every addressee in your outlook express box...i got it and may
> have inadvertantly passed it on
>
> frank
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