[Nfbk] FW: [Norton AntiSpam]Fw: I have just received this Virus alert, not ajoke.

Wed Dec 17 13:17:09 UTC 2014

This is a hoax.  See info below from snopes.com.  You can also Google "POSTCARD FROM HALLMARK virus" to learn more.

Synopsis: Computer viruses have been distributed through e-postcard notifications in the past, but current warnings of such viruses are generally outdated
or outright hoaxes.

Origins: Many web sites offer a service that allows a user to send a customized "greeting card" (or "postcard") to a relative, friend, or acquaintance,
delivered
as an e-mail message containing a hyperlink which the recipient follows to visit the originating site and view the card.  Sending out phony e-card notifications
is therefore an effective method of camouflaging viruses and inducing unwitting recipients into clicking on links that install malicious programs onto
their computers.

A wave of malicious messages (like the one reproduced above) sent out in June 2007 employed that very technique, arriving in inboxes bearing subject lines
such as "You've received a postcard from a family member!"  The messages contained URLs that recipients were supposed to visit to retrieve their e-cards,
but those URLs actually pointed to servers hosting a variety of malware (including a variant of the
Storm
Trojan, "an aggressive piece of malware that has been hijacking computers to serve as attacker bots" since early 2007) that was furtively installed onto
victims' PCs.  (Generally, only
unpatched
Windows-based systems were vulnerable.)

However, although the fake greeting card or postcard lure for delivering viruses may be used again in the future, warnings like the ones referenced above
are several years old and no longer pose any threat to computer users who have relatively up-to-date anti-virus software.  For the most part, messages
currently forwarded by well-intended people to warn others about the Postcard virus merely contribute to confusion by including hoax elements within them,
as well as  links to our
article
about the "Virtual Card for You" hoax.   Other versions of the postcard virus warning erroneously combine it with elements of the
Invitation
virus hoax:

Tonia Gatton
Assistive Technology Specialist
Kentucky career Center
KY Office for the Blind
Charles W. McDowell Center
8412 Westport Road
Louisville, KY 40242
(502) 429-4460 ext. 268
(502) 429-7101
tonia.gatton at ky.gov<mailto:tonia.gatton at ky.gov>

From: Nfbk [mailto:nfbk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of George Stokes via Nfbk
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2014 7:47 AM
To: nfbk at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Nfbk] FW: [Norton AntiSpam]Fw: I have just received this Virus alert, not ajoke.

From: Ranelle Mackey [mailto:ranelle7 at att.net]
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2014 8:48 PM
To: George Stokes; Hollis Rosenstein; Heather Mackey
Subject: Fw: [Norton AntiSpam]Fw: I have just received this Virus alert, not ajoke.

On Tuesday, December 16, 2014 10:10 AM, K. Blackburn <kbtenn2003 at yahoo.com<mailto:kbtenn2003 at yahoo.com>> wrote:

--- On Sun, 12/14/14, Ruthanne Wolfe <rwolfe602 at hotmail.com<mailto:rwolfe602 at hotmail.com>> wrote:

> From: Ruthanne Wolfe <rwolfe602 at hotmail.com<mailto:rwolfe602 at hotmail.com>>
> Subject: FW: [Norton AntiSpam]Fw: I have just received this Virus alert, not ajoke.
> To:
> Date: Sunday, December 14, 2014, 11:38 PM
>
>
>
>
>
> From:
> markrwolfe at neo.rr.com<mailto:markrwolfe at neo.rr.com>
> To: ;
> Subject: Fw: [Norton AntiSpam]Fw: I have just received this
> Virus alert, not ajoke.
> Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 22:18:44 -0500
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----
> Original Message -----
> From: Bendingrk at aol.com<mailto:Bendingrk at aol.com>
>
>
> To: Bendingrk at aol.com<mailto:Bendingrk at aol.com>
>
> Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2014 11:20 PM
> Subject: Fwd: I have just received this Virus
> alert, not
> ajoke.
>
>
>
>     > > URGENT, PLEASE READ. Not a joke.
> > >
> > >
>     THIS IS IMPORTANT
> > >
> > > BEWARE and tell everybody you
>     can think of!!!
> > >
> > > Better to be safe than
>     sorry
> > >
> > > Dave' s brother is a very advanced
>     programmer who does computer work
> > > for a living and has a high
>     up status with Microsoft.
> > >
> > > He doesn't send these
>     if they aren't real. If He says this is for real,
> > > it for sure
>     is. Be aware.
> > >
> > > VIRUS COMING !
> > >
>
> > > Hi All,
> > >
> > > I checked with Norton
>     Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus!
> > >
> >
>     > I checked Snopes , and it is for real. Get this
> E-mail message
>     sent
> > > around to your contacts ASAP.
> > >
> > >
>     PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND
> CONTACTS!
> > >
>
> > > 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 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 an email entitled "POSTCARD," even
> though it was 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.
> > >
> > > COPY THIS E-MAIL AND SEND IT TO YOUR
>     FRIENDS.
> > >
> > > REMEMBER: IF YOU SEND IT TO THEM, YOU
>     WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
>     >
> > >
> > >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
> =
>
>
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