Email virus ?

[Tom Robinson]

I'm receiving emails (with attachment info) from people in my address book that I don't normally correspond with. At the end of the subject line is a :-). If I open the email but not the attachment, it gives a password (usually a number), to open the attachment. Then all hell breaks loose, resulting in one or more of my email folders being unable to open. Am I the only one to experience this, or is it some kind of virus going around ?

[smudge]

No, you are not on your own. We & our two daughters have been receiving e-mails like this for a few weeks now. We never open up the attachments, we just block the senders, then delete the e-mails. If anyone has any further info on how to blast these nuisance e-mailers away, we would be very grateful.

[mac309]

Have you checked to see if these attachments contained a virus? If not click on this link and use the online virus checker http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall/start_cor
p.asp I recommend that you get antivirus protection and a firewall, especially if you're on broadband.

[Dave Potts]

It sounds like the W32 Netsky virus, which is really doing the rounds at the moment - you might want to check out this post: question 41558

[IggyB]

This is what our IT guru emailed us this morning... sounded relevant. The recent 'Bagle' worm launched earlier this week, and we would like to provide you with best practice information on how to protect yourselves (and the rest of us!) The worms attempt to avoid detection by arriving as a password-protected ZIP files; as a result, virus scanning services cannot detect the viruses contained inside. The password is contained in the body of the infected e-mail, so the user can choose to manually decrypt the ZIP file if they wish. E-mail characteristics include a spoofed "From:" address, random phrases in the subject field, and no message text. So, unless you're expecting an encrypted or password protected .zip file, don't open one.

[mac309]

I think IGGYB's right about it being the bagle virus (WORM_BAGLE.G).Check this virus encyclopedia to see if these are the symptoms. http://uk.trendmicro-europe.com/enterprise/securit
y_info/ve_detail.php?id=57948&VName=WORM_BAGLE.G