Got a virus alert on a virus that is over a year old

WildEagle

Banned
I recently got disgusted after a friend who, got a virus alert from a friend of his concerning the W32/Zhelatin.gen!eml virus, with the claim that it is a new virus. What a load of bullcookies that was. I looked up this virus on the net, and discovered that the virus is over a year old.

This turned about to be a case of somebody crying wolf, over a virus that is over a year old, and wasn't anything new. This particular virus has many aliases and has been around for over a year and a half.

I ain't stupid to buy in to every virus alert that comes along, and my advice is to look up the virus on the internet and antivirus vendor website to determine if it is a new one or an old one, should people here get a similar message from a friend.

There's too much crying wolf and sending out virus alerts I'm seeing now on the net.
 

My Computer

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Sit back, take a deep breath and relax. Then forward this email to at least ten of your friends and you will be listed in the Idiots Who Spam directory. If you don't forward this you will be forever listed as having more intellegence than the average person.
 

My Computer

You got that right. I'm letting it go.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Core 2 Duo E6600
    Motherboard
    Intel 975XBX2
    Memory
    8GB's of DDR2 800
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon 3870X2
    Sound Card
    HT Omega Claro
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VG2030wm Widescreen LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1680X1050
    Hard Drives
    120GB
    200GB
    320GB
    PSU
    ThermalTake Toughpower 700
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    four 120mm fans
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Multimedia Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Intellimous Explorer 2.0
    Internet Speed
    10MB
    Other Info
    16X LG DVDROM & LG Dual Layer DVD Burner
    Logitech X-540 speakers
With all the new stuff hitting. I don't take any of them lightly.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    pair of Intel E5430 quad core 2.66 GHz Xeons
    Motherboard
    Supermicro X7DWA-N server board
    Memory
    16GB DDR667
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA 8800 GTS 640 MB video card
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    SAS RAID
Ummm, what exactly did the email say?

Because I have used AVs in the past that spawned off a reply email when they *received* a virus from someone I knew.

The reference date had nothing to do with when the virus came out - it had to do with a newly discovered infection in stuff coming from the person who sent me the email....
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64 Insider Preview (Skip Ahead) latest build
    Manufacturer/Model
    The Beast Model V (homebrew)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 965 EE @ 3.6 GHz
    Motherboard
    eVGA X58 Classified 3 (141-GT-E770-A1)
    Memory
    3 * Mushkin 998981 Redline Enhanced triple channel DDR3 4 GB CL7 DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3-12800)
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-3979-KB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 * Lenovo LT2323pwA Widescreeen
    Screen Resolution
    2 * 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SanDisk Ultra SDSSDHII-960G-G25 960 GB SATA III SSD (System)
    Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SATA III SSD (User Tree)
    2 * Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA II Mech. HD
    Seagate ST1500DL001-9VT15L Barracuda 7200.12 1.5 TB S
    PSU
    Thermaltake Black Widow TX TR2 850W 80+ Bronze Semi-Mod ATX
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (Black)
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 (CPU, dual 140 mm fans on radiator) + Air (2 *
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 (gen 2)
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared)
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Lightspeed Gigabit duplex
  • Operating System
    Sabayon Linux (current, weekly updates, 5.1.x kernel)
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad E545
    CPU
    AMD A6-5350M APU
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon HD (Embedded)
    Sound Card
    Conextant 20671 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Lenovo 15" Matte
    Screen Resolution
    1680 * 1050
    Hard Drives
    INTEL Cherryvill 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SSD
    PSU
    Lenovo
    Case
    Lenovo
    Cooling
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared) | Synaptics TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex
The email was to the following site, which was sent to my friend by somebody else, and that alone is suspect. I looked the virus up, and the virus happens to be right around 2 years old, which means it isn't a new virus contrary to what my friend claimed, from his AV Source, which is Symantec.

snopes.com: 'Postcard from a Family Member' virus

People must think I'm awfully dumb to fall for this.

What alerted me that this smelled fishy, was that it didn't come from a legit antivirus vendor.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Core 2 Duo E6600
    Motherboard
    Intel 975XBX2
    Memory
    8GB's of DDR2 800
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon 3870X2
    Sound Card
    HT Omega Claro
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VG2030wm Widescreen LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1680X1050
    Hard Drives
    120GB
    200GB
    320GB
    PSU
    ThermalTake Toughpower 700
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    four 120mm fans
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Multimedia Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Intellimous Explorer 2.0
    Internet Speed
    10MB
    Other Info
    16X LG DVDROM & LG Dual Layer DVD Burner
    Logitech X-540 speakers
Email was to the following site? Umm, I am not sure I understand what you mean by that - are you saying that your email (that you received) was to that link?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64 Insider Preview (Skip Ahead) latest build
    Manufacturer/Model
    The Beast Model V (homebrew)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 965 EE @ 3.6 GHz
    Motherboard
    eVGA X58 Classified 3 (141-GT-E770-A1)
    Memory
    3 * Mushkin 998981 Redline Enhanced triple channel DDR3 4 GB CL7 DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3-12800)
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-3979-KB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 * Lenovo LT2323pwA Widescreeen
    Screen Resolution
    2 * 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SanDisk Ultra SDSSDHII-960G-G25 960 GB SATA III SSD (System)
    Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SATA III SSD (User Tree)
    2 * Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA II Mech. HD
    Seagate ST1500DL001-9VT15L Barracuda 7200.12 1.5 TB S
    PSU
    Thermaltake Black Widow TX TR2 850W 80+ Bronze Semi-Mod ATX
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (Black)
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 (CPU, dual 140 mm fans on radiator) + Air (2 *
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 (gen 2)
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared)
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Lightspeed Gigabit duplex
  • Operating System
    Sabayon Linux (current, weekly updates, 5.1.x kernel)
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad E545
    CPU
    AMD A6-5350M APU
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon HD (Embedded)
    Sound Card
    Conextant 20671 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Lenovo 15" Matte
    Screen Resolution
    1680 * 1050
    Hard Drives
    INTEL Cherryvill 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SSD
    PSU
    Lenovo
    Case
    Lenovo
    Cooling
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared) | Synaptics TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex
The link to the site I posted was in the email, and all my friend could see and say, was that it was legit according to Symantec. For crying out loud, you don't crying wolf over a website, that isn't even a legit security vendor, and over a virus that is close to 2 years old.

I'm not that stupid to see, that my friend is being scammed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Core 2 Duo E6600
    Motherboard
    Intel 975XBX2
    Memory
    8GB's of DDR2 800
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon 3870X2
    Sound Card
    HT Omega Claro
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VG2030wm Widescreen LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1680X1050
    Hard Drives
    120GB
    200GB
    320GB
    PSU
    ThermalTake Toughpower 700
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    four 120mm fans
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Multimedia Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Intellimous Explorer 2.0
    Internet Speed
    10MB
    Other Info
    16X LG DVDROM & LG Dual Layer DVD Burner
    Logitech X-540 speakers
Before you run off thinking that, perhaps you should see why he is saying that - if he got an email telling him he had a virus, or something like that, ask him to forward it to you.

Like I said - *he* may have the virus and someone he sent an attachment to may have auto replied when they received the attachment that he had the virus.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64 Insider Preview (Skip Ahead) latest build
    Manufacturer/Model
    The Beast Model V (homebrew)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 965 EE @ 3.6 GHz
    Motherboard
    eVGA X58 Classified 3 (141-GT-E770-A1)
    Memory
    3 * Mushkin 998981 Redline Enhanced triple channel DDR3 4 GB CL7 DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3-12800)
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-3979-KB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 * Lenovo LT2323pwA Widescreeen
    Screen Resolution
    2 * 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SanDisk Ultra SDSSDHII-960G-G25 960 GB SATA III SSD (System)
    Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SATA III SSD (User Tree)
    2 * Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA II Mech. HD
    Seagate ST1500DL001-9VT15L Barracuda 7200.12 1.5 TB S
    PSU
    Thermaltake Black Widow TX TR2 850W 80+ Bronze Semi-Mod ATX
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (Black)
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 (CPU, dual 140 mm fans on radiator) + Air (2 *
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 (gen 2)
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared)
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Lightspeed Gigabit duplex
  • Operating System
    Sabayon Linux (current, weekly updates, 5.1.x kernel)
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad E545
    CPU
    AMD A6-5350M APU
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon HD (Embedded)
    Sound Card
    Conextant 20671 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Lenovo 15" Matte
    Screen Resolution
    1680 * 1050
    Hard Drives
    INTEL Cherryvill 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SSD
    PSU
    Lenovo
    Case
    Lenovo
    Cooling
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared) | Synaptics TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex
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