Email viruses: you might be infected

[Erin]

Hi guys!

You might know already that some viruses spread through email. Every day I receive ten or twenty emails infected with these viruses, and I sometimes even receive notices or complaints from people who think that I have sent the email with the virus. There are many different viruses, but the most common one now is the Klez email virus/worm.

I would like to encourage all of your to make sure that your computers are safe and virus-free. You can scan your computer for viruses online for free using Symantec's Norton Anti-virus (the most popular and arguably best AV product on the market) at this address:

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/

Look for the link that says " Free Online Virus and Security Check ".

I would like to tell you guys that, if you've received any junk email from me, I did NOT send it. If you know me and my website, then you know that I would never, ever send such email to anybody. Furthermore, my computers are heavily protected with various firewalls and anti-virus programs. I update my virus definitions regularly and scan my computers for viruses daily. Furthermore, all of my incoming AND outgoing mail is scanned for viruses. So, if you've received any messages from TestMagic, they are likely the result of one of these viruses.

If you've received any of these emails from anybody, it was likely sent to you by somebody else whose computer is infected with the Klez virus. The Klez email virus works by selecting a random recipient from your Outlook address book (so your email came from somebody who has your address in their Outlook address book), replacing the true sender's email address with another one from the Outlook address book (so my email address is in their Outlook address book as well), and finally by inserting a random subject line. For example, say somebody whose computer is infected visits TestMagic.com and adds the TestMagic email address to her Outlook address book. The virus will select one address from the address book as the recipient, and another one as the sender. So, when you receive an email with the virus, you have almost no way of easily finding out who actually sent it. Tricking email programs like this, i.e., by altering information, is called "spoofing," and is a very common practice with viruses and spammers.

You can read about Klez here (this is a Symantec, aka Norton Anti-virus, site):

http://www.sarc.com . Look for the link that says something about Virus Encyclopedia.

Finally, if you've received an email that is infected with one of these viruses, your computer might also be infected, so you should be sure to scan it for viruses.

[raghuveer_v]

Wow!

it seems TestMagic is turning out to be more than just a site for test-prep and stuff.

Erin, you better try and register the domain name "everything.com" for future use.