This was in an e-mail:

Huge virus coming!!! Please read and forward!!!
http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/postcard.asp

Hi, I checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus! I checked Snopes (URL above), and it is for real!! Get this E-mail message sent around to your contacts ASAP.

You should be alert during the next few days. Do not open any message with an attachment entitled 'Postcard From Hallmark,' regardless of who sent it to you. It is a virus which opens A postcard image, 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. This is the reason why you need to 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' Postcard,' even though sent to you by a friend, do not open it! 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.

That's some serious stuff there. Thanks for the head's up, Jenny. :)

Thanks for the reminder!

It says in that link that it WON'T wipe out your entire hard drive, but it's still a virus nonetheless.

Thank you for the heads up!!! I think my computer at home my desktop had a virus in it kept shutting down by itself and the other day It shut off and it won't come back on so i think it's shot. So I ordered myself a new desktop computer from Dell.com not sure when I will have though.

I never open these things anyway. You can basically tell when it's spam and not the real thing. Luckily I have my mail come through Outlook and put a preview screen on so it's easier to tell what's bogus and what isn't.

I'm amazed people still get off on creating viruses. Just go play Guitar Hero on your Wii and leave the rest of us alone! lol



thx for the heads up tho. ;)

there should be no reason to break into a panic over this - there are new dangerous viruses created EVERY DAY, and any one of them could potentially be as damaging as they claim this one to be. Any email that tells you to "forward this to all of your contacts" is almost as bad as a virus - and could potentially contain a link to a virus.

in terms of email attachments, as a basic rule you should never open ANY email with an attachment, unless it is from someone you know that you are EXPECTING to receive an attachment from, and you should have your antivirus set to scan all attachments anyways. Many viruses are designed to spread by sending themselves to all your contacts, so it is very likely if you do get a virus that it could be coming from a friend that is infected.

beyond that, you should also avoid clicking on ANY links in emails - they could be potential phishing links that mask the real site's identity and steal your information or give you a virus (which is how this particular virus works). You should always manually enter the site's address into your address bar and navigate from the site yourself (say if it is for your bank or Paypal or eBay, or Amazon etc) - unless you are activating an account, in other words something you are EXPECTING. - and if you are unsure about it, contact the site directly before you click, call them or send an email, just don't reply to the one in question.

you should also set your email program to NOT show images in emails without scanning them first, as they could contain viruses as well.


also important here - the instructions to "turn your computer off immediately" is WRONG; DON"T open the email, just delete it immediately, or scan it first and delete it.

Thanks for the heads up. I will try to everyone I know about the virus.

I'm amazed people still get off on creating viruses. Just go play Guitar Hero on your Wii and leave the rest of us alone! lol

seriously! i've never understood why people are so desperate to create more viruses to screw others over with. get a life maybe...?

thanks for the heads up though!

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 NOT OPEN THE FILE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, and delete it immediately.

If you open this file, a message will appear on your screen saying: 'It is too late now; your life is no longer beautiful. '

Subsequently you will LOSE EVERYTHI NG 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 antivirus 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."

http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/mailserver.asp (http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/mailserver.asp)

the "life is beautiful" virus is a hoax, (and a very old one) which is CONFIRMED BY SNOPES if you read carefully at the bottom of the article.

its actually more important to tell people to be careful about opening ANY attachments or emails from anyone they don't know than randomly forwarding every individual "NEW VIRUS WARNING" to everyone you know.

Thanks for the information Janice. :)
Thanks Jenny. The virus is reeeeal too, as confirmed by Snopes. ;)

These days i hardly ever open up anything unless i know the sender, for that very reason.

I ALWAYS check my e-mail. Thanks for the reminders.