What is Patricks e-mail address ?

[wsbill]

If you have an e-mail account going to your Microsoft Outlook program like this guy, I would highly advise you to go to YAHOO and get a free e-mail account - which will prevent this from happening to your computer.

Also, delete.  Before opening any messages from people you don't know...
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Also, check with MSFT for any critical update for your windows program.  I just downloaded last night the most recent info.
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And of course, get yourself a virus program and make sure the computer automatically checks for updates or you check it weekly.  This is cheap insurance verses formating your hard-drive and reloading all your progams which takes days to do.
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This fellow, needs to contact Patrick.  I don't know him by name so I am posting the entire contents of his letter.  And advising him to create another USER NAME at his bellsouth address and go directly to Yahoo and sign up for a free e-mail account.
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Wsbill

 Please forgive me for having to write you.  I need to get  Patricks e-mail address.  Some fool sents a virus into my computer and it has been down for over a week.  I know it came from a place in Russia and we are trying to track it down now.  This was a very bad one that got buy Norton.  I have a message for the person that did this and I need to get back on the board so I can post.  If you can help me, Please e-mail me @ tbaker6@bellsouth.net

 Do not worry. I have this virus blocked now and it can not get thur anymore.  

Terry Baker
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[Patrick]

... in response to What is Patricks e-mail address ?, posted by wsbill on May 17, 2002

There's a way to avoid this.  Making it so only registered users can send email to any person and keeping the email addresses hidden.  The emails get sent through planet-love.com just like the messages are posted to the board.  The sender never sees the recipient's email address and no virus can be sent.

The problem I have with it is that I started this board with a very simple free script years ago (wwwboard) and have hacked away at it over the years turning it into a monster of several big scripts, backend data base, etc.  It's no longer easy to make changes to it without a lot of effort.

I could change over to a commercial board that's got all the security features installed, but when I suggested it to all the boards a few months ago it was an almost unanimous "NO" from everyone.  Nobody wants change.

Here's what I'd like to install-

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/index.php

It's got many advanced security features built in to it and is under constant development to add new features.  Very advanced, and not as heavy on bandwidth and processor load as some of the others.

Each time I hack on the existing system, it's get a little more complex and a little harder to work on in the future.  I've already put in literally hundreds of hours on it.  For a non-commercial message board on a site that loses money, I'm not too keen on puting in hundreds of more hours on something when I could transition over to a pre-built system that would still be superior for only $130 and maybe 10 hours work in porting the accounts over.

For now, I'd suggest to anyone wishing to list an e-mail address in their profile that they use one of the free web based accounts like Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. for their board email address and not open attachments.

A good way not to become part of the virus problem is to avoid using Microsoft Outlook or Eudora.  I use The Bat from Rit Labs, which is a very powerfull email client.  Since it doesn't store addresses the same way that Outlook does, it doesn't propagate the virus any further if my system gets infected.  I also run McAffee virus protection and update the virus definitions file regularly so I'm flagged every time an email with a virus attached comes in and simply delete the attached virus with a click of the mouse (many times per day!).

People who are corresponding with people from other countries via e-mail are especially at risk for viruses.  People in other developing countries often don't have virus protection and they spread like wildfire to anyone who may happen to be in their address book.  I suspect most of the viruses coming to people are probably not deliberately sent.  Viruses spread themselves by accessing the person's address book and sending copies of itself to others with various subjects.  Doesn't have to be a lady either.  If you've ever written to an agency in Russia with a question they may have put your address into their address book when they replied to you.  If they get infected, you're going to be getting email from them with a copy of the virus.  The people sending them aren't even aware that they're computer is doing it.

[terry]

... in response to It's in my profile, posted by Patrick on May 17, 2002

Thank you Patrick

 I am sure this one was sent to me knowing it had the virus. It came as an attackment picture. I knew what had happen as soon as I got it.  I called my son and he came over.  I was able to save a lot of data. The problem was that my computer is more like a sever for other computers. This virus was going to my other computers and we did not have time to stop all it did because they are at different locations.  My sons hostings service is also a back up system for my server and he had all my info at his store.

I put a new hard drive in and he has the hard drive that came out of it. we mailed the virus to one of his computers that he using to track a virus. He thinks he can find out where it came from.  He has put a program on my computer that if I get a virus, it sents right back to the person that sent it to me.  Also it has a little extra gift for them.

[BarryM]

... in response to Re: It's in my profile, posted by terry on May 18, 2002

For one thing, you have no way of knowing if the sender in the header of the email is really the sender. Email headers are forged all the time and the latest email viruses tend to randomly use entries in an address book as the sender to make it more difficult to determine the actual sender. You may never find out where the virus email came from.

If you knowingly send out a virus as "payback" you are in violation of federal law. If the virus happens to attack a computer in another country, you may face extradition and trial without the protection of the U.S. constitution. There are currently agreements to extradite and prosecute hackers between many Western countries. If your son enabled your computer to "payback" a virus attack, he is guilty of complicity in the cyber crime.

-blm

[terry]

... in response to Terry, you shouldn't resend email viruse..., posted by BarryM on May 19, 2002

Hi Barry

 did not have anything to send back. I just wanted him to sent it again, which he did. It is in the hands of the law now.  My cousin is the sheriff of the county I live in.  I talked to him about it and he got me in touch with an FBI ageny.  They have the proof now that it was sent deliberately.  

[BarryM]

... in response to Re: Terry, you shouldn't resend email vi..., posted by terry on May 20, 2002

I was worried there for a second. Still, your respondent may not be the originator of the email virus and is unwittingly sending it. Now if this person is harrassing you along with the email virus then it's definitely prosecutable.

I don't know why they would be attacking you since you haven't done anything other than participate on this board.

-blm

[wsbill]

... in response to Good..., posted by BarryM on May 20, 2002

http://www.kremenchuk.org/index-en.htm

Check the first message on their board...about Jack Bragg.
Then look at the ukr.net address.

This should be very easily traceable address.

[Paci]

... in response to It's in my profile, posted by Patrick on May 17, 2002

n/t

[tfcrew]

... in response to What is Patricks e-mail address ?, posted by wsbill on May 17, 2002

info@planet-love.com

[Jack]

... in response to What is Patricks e-mail address ?, posted by wsbill on May 17, 2002

Can you e-mail me, or WildBill, anyone, and let us know what subject title the virus is using?

My four or five e-mails I received today from Russia, as well as the 20 or 25 this week, have all been captured and contained, but it would be good if you could tell us what subject title to watch for Terry.

[Richard]

... in response to Terry, posted by Jack on May 17, 2002

I've noticed that I've been getting emails with no body to the messages.

[MarkInTx]

... in response to Re: Terry, posted by Richard on May 21, 2002

But I assume that it is simply Hotmail filtering out the junk...

[wsbill]

... in response to Terry, posted by Jack on May 17, 2002

Free Credit Reports offers.

I DELETED THEM ALL.

For one thing.............

NEVER GIVE OUT YOUR social Security number online to someone who e-mails you a message.  Anyone can create a website that sound legal, but you don't want to give out any information name, birthday, social, etc...

Unless you want to GIVE someone your identity and a couple of credit cards in your name.
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Recently when someone lifted my Visa number from the internet.  They moved very quickly to buy from Verisign 7 internet websites address & working from servers in Eastern Europe, which had credit card processing or whatever on them for quick transactions of credit card purchases.

They definately maxed out my credit card. But what they didn't expect to find me doing the very next day was checking my Visa Credit Card Balance online.

They were expecting me to have a 30 or 45 day delay in noticing my balance on my Visa Card.  No doubt it was a big surprise to them when their websites when down.

Of course the first thing I did was contact my credit card company and have them terminate the number.  And I contacted Verisigns directly about the matter and of course they cancel those website addresses.

The one thing when I was talking with my credit card company was find out directly from them who were the main credit reporting companies are...an call and tell them what happened.  So they can be on the look out for someone trying to re-create your identity.

This is serious folks.  Call your bank if your in question about this issue.