Warning, virus in email...

29 Jun 2005

I have just recieved an email containing a file called which proports to contain a photo... infact it contains the file <<< note the .pif at the end...
This file is a ms-dos file and is usually a virus of some kind.
The text of the email was

Hello
We seen your advert on a swingers site and would like to know more about you. We're a Scottish couple from tayside and we'd really like to meet like minded couples/singles
for some no strings kinky fun. You'll find a picture of us in the attachment.
Get in touch if you like the look of us

and the email from address is "removed by a mod"
which is an invalid email address as has just returned a failiour notice to the email I sent just incase the sender didnt know they were infected.
so be warned.

29 Jun 2005

right click the file and save it to the HD. Run it through your virus proggy and it will tell you if it is infected. (.pif is not normally a virus it is actually quite a normal file ending). Virus is normally .ws or an executable file.

29 Jun 2005

Quote by G and H
right click the file and save it to the HD. Run it through your virus proggy and it will tell you if it is infected. (.pif is not normally a virus it is actually quite a normal file ending). Virus is normally .ws or an executable file.

Dont run one... havn't done so for the last 4 years and not been infected once "touch wood." That said, I dont use any downloaders, p2p programs, never accept anyfile not ending in "jpg, bmp, tiff" and the like, and also know to check zip files for the cheats such as using a long line of underscores after the ".jpg" I do run an online checker once every now and then if i've installed something new but alot of AV programs just lead you into a false sence of security especially as there has only been one ot two cracks that didnt require you to run some form of exicutable to get infected (they were buffer overrruns) and some of the most proflific viruses were not detected by the AV programs.
the netsky (and variations) worms used .pif files to propogate...
the pif file is an exicutable file in the same way .scr .ws .exe files are... its uses the dos environment to run (which is called "command prompt" in NT, 2000, and XP)

29 Jun 2005

Well John,
I am what you call a certified computer expert and believe me without firewall and
proper virus programs you can catch worms just by visiting web sites which are infected and you will not know it until your PC goes down suddenly. I've actually 3 firewalls on mine and 2 independent virus programs and I have never been infected. And yes pif is executable but only in DOS mode and nobody works with taht anymore.