Another Virus Warning

This time brought to you by my anti-virus program ... avast!. Still, it's worth passing on.

Beware of the threat from hacked websites 

This year, there has been a large increase in the number of legitimate websites infected by a so-called "iframe" threat - a type of malicious script.

Several prominent websites have come under attack from hackers who have modified the underlying code so that malware can be distributed to unsuspecting users who visit the site. When a user visits an infected site, an invisible connection is established to a remote server, which can then attempt to install malware on the user's computer. The intention could be to generate spam, or possibly something more sinister, such as stealing personal information e.g. bank account or credit card details.

 In 2008, several high-profile websites were targeted, including USA Today, ABC News, Target and Wal-Mart and simply visiting one of these infected websites could have resulted in the user's computer being infected. More recently, a number of websites have been detected by avast! as being infected by a malicious script called "HTML:Iframe-inf". Among the websites affected are a number of Government sites in the US, including the United States Forest Service, the US International Trade Commission and the websites of several embassies around the world. Many popular travel and recreational websites have also been compromised.

avast! antivirus will detect and block access to any website that is infected by this threat and will display a warning that a virus has been detected. If avast! displays this warning, you should discontinue your attempt to connect to that particular website and either report the infection to the relevant party so that it can be removed, or post a message on the avast! forum in the section Viruses and Worms so that it can be investigated to determine whether the website is really infected. Do not ignore this warning, even if you believe the website to be a reputable one - the recent attacks prove that no websites are immune to infection.

Thanks to one of our regular forum users who reported the infection to the organization concerned, the website of the US International Trade Commission was quickly repaired and the infection removed, however, potentially, many more websites remain infected.

To minimize the risk of falling victim to such an attack from this, and other similar threats, it is essential that your antivirus software is kept up-to-date. We recommend that your avast! antivirus is set to update itself automatically, or alternatively, that you perform regular manual updates, ideally daily.

Alwil Software would like to thank its regular forum users for their help in this particular case and for the valuable support they continually provide to the rest of the avast! user community.

www.avast.com

No Joke In April Fools' Day Computer Worm

The Worm Is Expected To Activate On April Fools' Day

POSTED: Tuesday, March 31, 2009

UPDATED: 1:26 pm EDT March 31, 2009

The Conficker worm, a nasty computer infection that has poisoned millions of PCs, will start ramping up its efforts Wednesday to use those machines for cybercrimes.

It's unclear whether everyday PC users will even notice, but this is as good an excuse as any to make sure your computer is clean.

There are some easy ways to figure out whether a computer has the Conficker worm, and free tools available for getting rid of it.

One scary thing about Conficker is that it spreads without human involvement, moving from PC to PC by exploiting a security hole in Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system. The hole was fixed in October, but if your computer doesn't get automatic updates from Microsoft, you could be vulnerable.

Lots of computer worms disable antivirus software outright, which can be a tip-off that something is wrong. But Conficker doesn't do that. Instead, Conficker blocks infected PCs from accessing the antivirus vendors' and Microsoft's Web sites, so victims won't get automatic updates and can't download the Conficker removal tools that those companies have developed.

So see what Web sites you can visit. If you can navigate the Internet freely except for sites owned by Microsoft or antivirus vendors such as Symantec Corp., McAfee Inc. or F-Secure Corp., your PC might have Conficker or a similar bug.

Fixing the problem gets a little trickier.

The best remedy is to have a friend -- whose computer is not infected -- download a removal tool from Microsoft or one of the antivirus vendors. Then that person should e-mail the tool to you.

A list of the free Conficker removal programs is available on the Web site of the Conficker Working Group, an alliance of companies fighting the worm. The removal programs will take care of themselves, for the most part, scanning your system and purging the worm.

One thing to note: Conficker blocks infected machines from running removal tools with "Conficker" in the name. So users might have to change the name of the file (one you've saved the tool to your desktop, right-click on it and select "rename") before running it. The program's instructions will let you know if you need to do this. Many antivirus vendors have already changed the names in their removal tools -- in some cases calling the file a misspelled variant of "Conficker" -- to trick the worm into letting the program run.

Businesses have a bigger challenge, because Conficker has yet another method for evading detection. Once the worm is inside a machine, it applies its own version of the Microsoft patch that fixes the vulnerability Conficker exploited in the first place. So a business running a standard network scan, looking for unpatched machines, might come up empty-handed, even though some computers on the network are infected.

The scans need to take a deeper dive into the machines on the network -- something an antivirus vendor's service should enable. For government agencies, contractors and operators of critical infrastructure, the Department of Homeland Security also has released a network-detection tool for Conficker.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Phone Scam

Well, it's that time of the year ...

The phone rings ... "I'm Josh and I'm calling for the Police Benevolent Fund in (this) County. We realize times are hard, but we need to collect (a certain) amount of dollars for needy children in the area. For a contribution now of only $15 you can help these children. We'll even send you a County Sheriff's Department bumper sticker showing your support. Vehicles with these bumper stickers tell the local authorities you support *their* Benevolent Fund. It's no guarantee you won't get a ticket, but it could help in the event you're pulled over". The call went on and on ...

I asked him to send me information and I'd look it over before making my donation. While he didn't flat out refuse, he did skirt the issue by emphasizing the support sticker and that it was *only* $15. He never would commit to sending out information without my first making a nominal donation of $15.

Needless to say, I told him IF I donate it will be directly through the Sheriff's Department. That personally I thought he's running a damned scam based on his refusal of sending me information before making a donation. Oh, how I wish I had caller ID on my phone, I'd have called the local PD and told them about it!

First of all ... never give out any of your personal information to any one who calls you, no matter how sincere they may seem. This goes, too, for someone calling you claiming to be from your bank ... call them back at a number you have (or look up yourself!!)

Second ... ASK for information to be sent to you. I refuse to give my address. After all, they called me ... they must have some sort of record on hand. If not, oh well ...

Third ... Police Benevolent Funds (or Societies), and The Fireman's *whatever* fund do not solicit donations over the phone.

Fourth ... Anyone claiming (or insinuating) special *powers* with a police or fire department support sticker for your vehicle are ... well, they're full of crap.

When in doubt decline. If it's a charity you really want to support - YOU APPROACH THEM! Police and Fire Departments will be able to tell you where your donations can be made (if you call, just be sure to use their non-emergency business numbers).

And yes, I got the above phone call today ...

WARNING about Past Expiration Date Baking Mixes!!

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

I received this in an email. Having a daughter who is allergic to penicillin I became concerned. This is something I never knew before!! I looked it up on snopes.com ... here's the URL to the article.
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/pancake.asp

Thanks Dad for emailing it to me!!

Please feel free to pass this around!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A student at HBHS had pancakes this week and it almost became fatal. His Mom (registered nurse) made him pancakes, dropped him off at school and headed to play tennis. She never takes her cell phone on the court but did this time and her son called to say he was having trouble breathing. She told him to go to the nurse immediately and proceeded to call school and alert the nurse. The nurse called the paramedics and they were there in 3 minutes and worked on the boy all the way to the hospital. He came so close to dying. Evidently this is more common then I ever knew. Check the expiration dates on packages like pancakes and cake mixes that have yeast which over time develop spores.

Another friend found this e-mail she had received earlier (then our almost tragedy) so I could send it to all of you. I made pancakes for Derek which finished off my box and have since bought a new box. I shudder at the thought of Derek having trouble breathing because of me and outdated pancake mix.

WARNING ABOUT Pancake Mix (and other boxed mixes)

(maybe you already know this, I DID NOT !!) Talk about frightening. ...

Throw away ALL OUTDATED pancake mix you have in your home,PLEASE! If you don't believe me, read this article and then follow the 'Link' below to SNOPES. Sorry to be the Grim Reaper of bad news, but I would rather have you ALIVE, besides a $2.00 box of pancake mix is NOT worth your life.

P. S. You might want to tell this to your children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces and anyone else who keeps pancake mix in the cupboard.

WARNING - READ ON. AND CHECK SNOPES TOO.

From Snopes: cause of death due to anaphylaxic shock reaction to molds.

I recently made a batch of pancakes for my healthy 14-year-old son, using a mix that was in our pantry. He said that they tasted 'funny,' but ate them anyway. About 10 minutes later, he began having difficulty breathing and his lips began turning purple. I gave him his allergy pill, had him sit on the sofa and told him to relax. He was wheezing while inhaling and exhaling.

My husband, a volunteer Firefighter and EMT, heated up some water, and we had my son lean over the water so the steam could clear his chest and sinuses. Soon, his breathing became more regular and his lips returned to a more normal color. We checked the date on the box of pancake mix and, to my dismay, found it was very outdated.
As a reference librarian at an academic institution, I have the ability to search through many research databases. I did just that, and found an article the next day that mentioned a 19-year-old male DYING after eating pancakes made with outdated mix. Apparently, the mold that forms in old pancake mix can be toxic!

When we told our friends about my son's close call, we were surprised at the number of people who mentioned that they should check their own pancake mix since they don't use it often, or they had purchased it some time ago. With so many people shopping at warehouse-type stores and buying large sizes of pancake mix, I hope your readers will take the time to check the expiration date on their boxes.

Also, beware of outdated Bisquick, cake, brownie and cookie mixes.