Hi all!
I am sure every one of you out there has friends who send you the latest
email virus scare mails. I myself am guilty of passing a few of them
along in the past. Here is an article from the HR Cyberspace column of
HR Magazine that can put those virus fears to rest:
A staffer writes: " I recently got an email forwarded by a friend of
mine to not open any email with the subject 'Good Times' because it
contained a virus. Is this true? I have anti-virus software -- will
that protect me?"
The "Good Times" virus is a long-time running hoax. In fact, there are
a lot of email virus warnings making the rounds, and they are all
nothing more than cyber-pranks.
Viruses travel in executable files -- which means you can't contract one
simply by reading an email or viewing a WWW page. You have to launch
something -- for example, start a program or open an attached file -- to
be exposed. However, if you routinely get emails with file attachments
(a cover letter accompanied by an electronic resume, for example), you
are susceptible to any virus that may travel with the file.
In most cases, anti-virus software will protect you. But, it's
important that you keep this software up to date because new viruses are
introduced all of the time. Anti-virus ware is easy to install and
update. Your IS/IT department or Internet service provider should be
able to help you if needed. For more information about viruses, visit
the Computer Security Resource Clearinghouse virus information page
(http://csrc.ncsl.nist.gov/virus/).
Author: Mike Frost, manager of online services for SHRM
Hope this clears things up for some of you out there!
Susan Hensley :)
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