How could I identify an email containing virus? e.g. an email from postmasterX14@hotmail.com?

"postmasterX14@hotmail.com" was also marked in the receiver's place. The email has been classified as "suspected junk mail" in the subject column.





The email expressed the results of a lottery programme run by Yahoo.com and asked me to provide certain information.

How could I identify an email containing virus? e.g. an email from postmasterX14@hotmail.com?
emails can not contain viruses. If a virus is sent to you directly by email it will be an attachement and will be an executable file. (.exe)





Delete the email. Yahoo does not run a lottery program. postmasterX14@hotmail.com is attempting to phish you.
Reply:film is correct





get the following, all are free for a safe surfing experience,


install in SAFE mode with networking ( hit F-8 at boot time ), run them all in SAFE mode


with networking as you'll need it for the updates all the programs below will need.


Turn off RESTORE and the RECYLE BIN temporarily as virii can regenerate / reinfect even if you delete


them with both services on. After all the scanning and cleaning after a 2nd reboot and one last


scan do you turn both of them back on.





ANTI VIRAL





AVG (free) http://free.grisoft.com/








FIREWALL





ZoneAlarm http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/co...





WEB BROWSER - http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox





EMAIL use thunderbird. It has a good built in spam filter and learns when you teach it.





http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderb...





SPYWARE





http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaw...





http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index...








and if you have a wireless router follow these tips,








1. Use WPA encryption (WPA-PSK) it's less crackable then WEP.





2. Make a passphrase that is upper %26amp; lower case and has some numbers thrown in there as well, again harder to crack.


some like mAkE1t5eCurE0rel53 and as long as possible.





3. Use MAC access control so only you or authorized PC's can connect (even if you do have encryption turned on)





4. Turn off DHCP use static addresses.





5. Turn off SSID (and change it) unless your card really needs it (some do)





6. Change username/password of access unit front end





7. Ensure you have the usual firewall enabled on your PC.





8. Paranoia rules, turn WLAN off if your not using it :)








one last tip


control panel---administrator tools--services--messenger





right clik on it


stop the service


then disable it


save changes








*********** sidebar note*****************8





You've seen the Internet ads: Click here to get your free laptop computer, iPod, trip to Bermuda . . .





Ever wondered what would happen if you tried to claim the freebie?





Generally, you'd end up earning the reward by answering surveys, completing product offers or referring friends.





To find out if the process proved worth the effort, we polled our newsletter readers for a week and asked about their





experience with answering ads for free merchandise. Most responded that the freebie turned out to be anything but free.





Here is a sampling of the letters we received.


The free iPod that cost me


"I responded to a free iPod ad. After several requests to sign up for various services, I realized that the free iPod was not





free at all. The killing part is, I actually did commit to a few services and have been billed for them, but because I got





caught in a loop of pop-up windows and surveys, I became frustrated and did not follow through to get the free iPod.





"I keep saying that I am going contact someone about it, but being the procrastinator that I am, I just haven't gotten around





to it yet." -- Rhonda


Free cell phone! What free cell phone?


"Free stuff, what a joke.





"After going through 11 questionnaires and saying no to all, you finally get to the last, and they say you must at least pick





two items in order to be able to get whatever they are giving away.





"For instance, I answered a free cell phone ad and went through 11-12 questionnaires and at first it says no obligation to





buy anything, but when I got to the last I must at least try magazines for 30 days and they're hoping I will forget to cancel





before the 30 days. And the kicker was once I agreed to the free trial of magazines, they never ever mentioned the free cell





phone again, and I will be watching and waiting to see what they do to my credit card and if I get the phone, and then that's





when I will sue the company for 100 times the amount of the phone and the magazines.


More from MSN Money and Bankrate.com


service 漏 Comstock Select/Corbis





* How to quit the gym (or anything)


* When is a freebie offer really free?


* How to say NO! to anything or anyone


* Have a frugal tip? Share it to win $100


* 5 reasons you overspend online


* Internet scams to watch for in 2007





"By the way, once you give one company your credit card number you get charged $1 to $4.95 on your card, for other items I





never heard of before and have to take the time to call them and get them to remove it.





"There should be a law against this thing." -- Bob


Free spam! Act now!


"Yes, they are all scams. There is always a 'short' questionnaire. You always have to answer many, many questions if you want





this or that. You always have to give your e-mail address and other information. You always have to check 'yes' for at least





one in order to qualify and continue. If you ever get to the end after 45 minutes or so -- yeah, short -- you end up having





to buy or sign up for something or your name is put into a lottery for a chance to win. I, in my stupidity, have done this





several times. Always thinking maybe this one is legit. Not! I have never gotten the free product or the free gift card,





groceries, movie tickets, etc. Then your e-mail is bombarded with hundreds of advertisements that you can never seem to stop





unless you change your e-mail address. What a deal. Moral of this story is: Nothing is free." -- Jean











"I filled out the questionnaire online for a $50 gift certificate for dinner at a well-known restaurant chain. They ask for





your name and the rest of your personal information and e-mail address. Then the questionnaire opens up a new page and asks





you if you would be interested in e-mails for specials on items that you could use in your life. You fill that page out then





here comes another page with more questions. After about five pages I gave up. It just wouldn't quit. It was like a stupid





carrot that they had hanging out there that you could never reach. I turned my computer off and said, 'Forget that!' After





that I didn't check my e-mail for about a week and when I did I had over 200 spam messages, even sex ones. I never did get a





dinner certificate. I had to close that e-mail account because the spam garbage would not quit. Moral of the story: There is





no free lunch on the Internet." -- Sascha





"I have responded twice to freebie ads, using an alternative e-mail address and within 24 hours received hundreds of spam





e-mails -- and no free anything. My perception is the purpose is to get folks to reply and then have access to their e-mail





addresses." -- Bea





"After I gave my e-mail address and answered all the questions, I was informed that I had to order (buy) one item from





several areas in order to receive the freebie. I canceled the 'adventure' and have been inundated with junk mail ever since.





Never again. Big scam for addresses to sell, etc." -- Anita


Complete the never-ending survey


"I tried to win a few of those free products, but I am convinced they are the biggest fraud out there. For example, I spent





three hours filling out questionnaires only to find out they never end, and the couple of times I got to the end they wanted





me to buy something and you know what that means: They are asking for your credit card information.





"They are scam artists." -- Randy


Free (with shipping and handling)


"I purchased some software from a company that advertises if you pay for shipping you get four software titles for free.





"A few weeks later I got a $49 charge on my account. I looked up the company on the Web and none of the links I found went to





the company. I tried the phone number that showed up on my statement and they simply tell you they are not available and to





try back later before they hang up on you. So dissatisfied, I searched the Internet a little more only to find I wasn't the





only one to be scammed. Turns out that they never tell you that you are signing up for a subscription but send you software





and you have a short time frame to return it or be charged. Total scam." -- Kendal


Free (with Social Security and credit card numbers)


"I was scammed. The 'free' gift required my participation in at least six 'promotions,' each of which required signing up for





a trial membership and/or paying shipping and handling fees for the information. Plus I was asked to provide credit card and





Social Security numbers -- too much sensitive, private and personal information.





"The 'free' gift was never realized, and I felt scammed." -- Edward


Free (with purchase)


"Yes, I've answered ads for 'free' products. Please note the quote marks -- they're intentional. Many of the Internet





freebies have extremely long forms to fill out, complete with a host of ads you need to reply 'not interested' to or else





you'll receive hundreds of solicitations from various companies.





"The 'gift certificates' offered for sometimes hundreds of dollars almost always involve purchasing something, somewhere





along the line or becoming a trial member of something. At which point you need to pay for your subscription or membership





upfront, with the caveat it's 'fully refundable' within strict parameters. As the saying goes, there's no such thing as a





free lunch!