VIRUS WARNING

[minipete]

Anyone-using Internet mail such as Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL and so on.
This information arrived this morning, Direct from both Microsoft and Norton.
Please send it to everybody you know who has access to the Internet.
You may receive an apparently harmless e-mail with a Power Point
presentation " Life is Beautiful"
If you receive it DO NO T OPEN THE FILE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, and
delete it immediately.
If you open this file, a mess age will appear on your screen saying:
"It is too late now, your life is no longer beautiful."
Subsequently you will LOSE EVERYTHING IN YOUR PC, And the person who
sent it to you will gain access to your name, e-mail and password.
This is a new virus which started to circulate on Saturday afternoon.
AOL has already confirmed the severity, and the anti virus software's are not capable of destroying it.
The virus has been created by a hacker who calls himself "life owner".
PLEASE SEND A COPY OF THIS E-MAIL TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS,
And ask them to
PASS IT ON IMMEDIATELY!
THIS HAS BEEN CONFIRMED BY SNOPES

Pete.

[jimskater]

This one's actually a hoax. It's been around since 2002.

Here's the snopes.com write up:

http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/life.asp

[Owen]

There's always hoaxes like this. Virus warnings are worth squat, as by the time they've been eMailed around if they're genuine, the Virus will have been rewritten by the author many times. Keep your Anti Virus up to date, use Avast (Free, much better than AVG, or Norton, or Symantec), and use Spybot to immunise against Spyware and Browser Hi-Jacking. And of course, use a Firewall!

[jimskater]

Owen, I've always been happy with AVG

Meanwhile, I use spybot, adaware & a firewall. Can't be too safe.

[1lightningd]

If you get an e-mail along the lines of 'Osama Bin Laden Captured' or
'Osama Hanged',don't open the attachment.

This e-mail is being distributed through countries around the globe, but
mainly in the US and Israel

Be considerate & send this warning to whomever you know.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS:

You should be alert during the next days:
Do not open any message with an attached file called 'Invitation'
regardless of who sent it.
It is a virus that opens an Olympic Torch which 'burns' the whole hard
disc C of your computer.

This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in
his/her contact list, that is why you should send this e-mail to all
your contacts.
It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus
and open it

If you receive a mail called 'invitation', though sent by a friend, do
not open it and shut down your computer immediately.

This is the worst virus announced by CNN, it has been classified by
Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever.

This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair
yet for this kind of virus.

This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the
vital information is kept.

[Owen]

Hoax. Ignore it Alvie!