I keep getting the same email with an attachment from many many different names that I don't recognize. My general practice is to not open attachments. Is any one else getting this? It reads something like " I send you this file in order to get your opinion." I rapidly hit the delete button. Just a heads up and a poll!

-- Dreeen (bisquit@here.com), July 24, 2001

Answers

GOOD GOING Dreen. . . our office got hit with a nasty virus from e- mail attachments this past friday. . . has taken two days to clear up. The name of the virus was W32.Sircam.worm@mm; whoever invented it needs a serious spanking, blanket party and beating. The virus messes up the SIRCAM.EXE network files. DO NOT OPEN UNSOLICITED EMAIL, ESPCIALLY EMAIL YOU HAVE TO RUN AN APPLICATION!

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), July 24, 2001.

Yea, I get all sorts of junk mail with all sorts of 'enticements' to get me to open an E-mail with attachments. "urgent:reply requested!!" "account information: please read" "I thought that was you, how have you been?" etc. etc. etc. I opened one up one time by mistake. Within the week, I was getting "failure to send" notices about e-mail I had never sent. Seems like the rogue E-mail contained a self-deleting trojan virus that fed my password to a hacker. He/She/It was using my account to send out spam. I had to change account names and passwords. This happened only because I opened an E-Mail that had an attachment, not a normal E-Mail. You cannot get a virus by opening an E-Mail that DOESN'T have an attachment. You are doing the right thing by deleting them without reading them. In addition, NEVER NEVER NEVER reply to an E-mail to ask to be removed from their list. (unless you originally subscribed to the list. I'm talking about unsolicited E-Mails here) Responding to an unsolicited E-mail in ANY form will only certify that the spammer has a legitimate E-Mail address. It will make things MUCH worse. Not better!!

-- StevenB (thicketyrowfarm@aol.com), July 24, 2001.

Thanks guys. I just have a rule about attachments. maybe I'm afraid of committment??? Steven, I didn't know that about the unsubscribe deal. Thanks for the advice!

-- Dreen (bisquit@here.com), July 26, 2001.