Avondale email

Has anyone else recieved an email from them....with a failed translation and dodgey looking binary attached file? I've had no contact with them myself so it must be a third party problem.

This is just an "eyes up" chaps.

 

It's a virus. Just delete it.

 

This is the way with viruses – all it takes is for someone who has your or Avondale's address and uses Windows Address Book or other standard mail application to get infected and you will start getting spammed.

One of my friends was stupid enough to click on one of these virus attachments (he really should have known better), and as a result I went through a few weeks of getting utterly spammed with the bloody things! My email address was in his address book, the virus found and distributed it.

Once again I recommend using a non-Microsoft email client – Forte Agent being my personal favourite (www.forteinc.com). It has kept me safe for years. If I was stupid enough to click on an attachment (I'm not!) the virus isn't designed to read Agent's propriety address book, so my actions wouldn't damage anyone else.

Tony.

 

Huge assumption. Viruses are into scanning files on your computer for things that look like email addresses. I guess that includes any web cache area.

Viruses generally haven't been well engineered, but it seems their writers are 'improving'.

Paul

 

Virus writers are getting smarter.

A virus email may *appear* to come from a person or organisation that you deal with.

A virus email may have a subject line which makes sense in the context of the sender.

So how do you spot a virus?

It will have an attachment. In Outlook Express, you can find the type of the attachment by right-clicking on the message title and selecting Properties and then View Source. Scroll down and the attachment type will be there.

If the attachment name ends with .pif or .scr or .exe or .com, treat it with extreme caution.

If you do open and read the email, pay attention to the quality of the English. If the grammar is bad, this is a warning sign. Most virus writers it seems are very poor at English.

If the email says that something bad will happen or you will lose some service if you don't open the attachment, beware. Legitimate services don't send out this type of email. They would tell you to visit their website, maybe providing a link, rather than bulk mail an attachment.

A decent firewall, such as ZoneAlarm, will quarantine dodgy attachments in Outlook Express. This includes all files with the extensions mentioned above.

Oh, and beware of files with double extensions, like 'something.jpg.pif'. It is *not* a .jpg. It *is* a .pif and very likely a virus.

 

I doubt very much if it came from Avondale as I don't use Microsoft products to download mail. In any event, scanning through my address book, there isn't even an address for Zanash so you're safe from me Pete.

This is probably the latest ploy from a well publicised detractor of Avondale to 'get even'. I'll leave the guesswork up to the members.......

 

I assume this was a tongue-in-cheek comment, in which case a smilie-smilie-Carol... would probably have been appropriate.

Les, it looks just like the many virus emails that have been flying around (with a .pif extension) saying things like "the file you asked for" etc., and as TonyL said it has most probably come from a third party. I've been getting a fair few recently, almost exclusively from people I've never heard of. It's probably picking up random addressees and spoofing the sender from the browsed address books. So it probably came from someone who has Avondale in their address-book (I assume there are some )

 

I doubt it Les even though I wouldn't put it past the person in question to do something like that.

It's much more likely to be just a virus that was inadvertently (and automatically) sent by someone who has both yours and Pete's e-mail addresses in their address book. The recent Beagle and Netsky viruses have been particularly good at doing this to create plausible looking senders and subject lines.

Michael.

 

Hypocracy

Les

you said...This is probably the latest ploy from a well publicised detractor of Avondale to 'get even'. I'll leave the guesswork up to the members.......

If the "detractor had said the reverse, you would probably be threatening legal action. That posting should be deleted as it is potentially libelous and contrary to the spirit of this forum.

Regards

Mick

 

>This is probably the latest ploy from a well publicised detractor of Avondale to 'get even'. I'll leave the guesswork up to the members.......< LesW

I will categorically state now that I am not in anyway responsible for anything to do with the viruses that have come from Avondale.

We are all under threat from such despicable attacks and should endeavour to take appropriate protective action.

The inferred allegation by Les that I am the "detractor" is way out of order. But then thats typical of the man who I note continues with his threatening manner and has still failed to pay for the damage Avondale inflicted upon my CD3.

Michael, I do not want to cause offence by mentioning the above and spoil the spirit of this forum, but in light of the inferrence and paranoia by Les, I felt it only fair that I should defend myself.

Barnie.

 

Paranoia Barnie, paranoia!
If Les is all you claim he is there must be hundreds queuing up to smear him via faux e-mails. I would have never thought he meant you until you mentioned it.

Bob

 

To get rid of spam i use Mailwasher.

Mailwasher looks at your email server and gives you the option of deleting bouncing and blacklisting adresses and domains. Tis free for single email account use (except hotmail) and if you pay for pro version about $37us you can have it manage multiple accounts.

When i started using mailwasher about 9 months ago iwas getting 75 to 100 spam mailks a day as i had had adress for ages gradually over time this has been whitled down and now get less than a dozen and none of them get to my mail program. Thoroughly recommended.

Details here http://www.mailwasher.net/download.php mailwaher (free)

http://www.firetrust.com/products/pro/ mailwaher pro

 

>I would have never thought he meant you until you mentioned it. <bob mccluckie

Well then by the above statement, you obviously know that there are plenty of disgruntled Avondale customers who LesW could have been referring too, thanks for the confermation.

Barnie.

 

moderator-hat-mode..

Could we please keep this about virus warnings, which are relevant to any internet user myself included?

Thanks very much!

moderator-hat-off.

Cheers
Chris

 

Virus

>Could we please keep this about virus warnings, which are relevant to any internet user myself included? <

Quite right! and I hope this goes for the owner of this forum too!

>I wouldn't put it past the person in question to do something like that. <michaelab

Regards

Barnie.

 

Barnie,

pack in!

 

Hmmm... Viruses, Parasites...all annoying things.

 

Blimey, Barnie, get over it!!!

You too Mick. I thought I was meant to be the immature one.

Avondale products are great (cos I own one and it's great).

All the Avondale power amps I've heard eat the Naims for brekkie, light luncheon, mid-afternoon tea, and din-dins.

 

Mr. Parry et al, think me not a member of a counsel of fools for a fool I am not.
I haven't been in business these thirty years or more only to have learned nothing. Some of that learning will now, if the small but select group will indulge me, be passed on without any fee whatever.

The libel laws exist not as most people think, to report Appleby minor to the headmaster for mentioning that a certain teacher is a twit and to find that the head, on hearing this flagrant breach of school etiquette, draws out his trusty cane, bends the wretched Appleby minor over to touch his toes and administers six of the best. Ah, were it not so I ponder..??

Anyway, to horse………

Libel is construed to be the unfair or untrue naming of someone either factually, by implication or by recounting an incident where the party being libelled is unequivocally recognised not only by those in the know but by the public at large (I cannot emphasise these last words too highly – the public at large). Once these criteria have been fulfilled, the way is open to sue for libel but to what end..?? The desirable outcome would be to win both costs and damages but of course, as we've seen in some high profile cases where the trifling damages awarded don't even cover costs, one or both parties have been rendered bankrupt as a consequence.

Libel cases are generally (but not always) held in High Court requiring the services of barristers at the stratospheric rates they charge and as such, threats of libel action are mostly silly sabre rattling. I doubt whether anyone here can afford to get even to first base with a libel case.

In order to successfully claim damages, the person bringing the action has to demonstrate that he has suffered actual *material* loss as a direct result of the libel and not as by any other cause. Loss of face, prestige, social standing etc do not in the eyes of the law, constitute material loss for the purpose of this discussion. As an example, someone unemployed would have a difficult time proving loss of income as a result of being maligned by the local press for instance. He may successfully sue for being castigated by the media but the victory would be a Pyrrhic one.

It is for the higher profile individuals or companies of our society to substantiate and quantify any losses they may have incurred and for any losses they may incur for the foreseeable future as a direct result of the actions of the other party.

For my own part, I've no appetite for ever bringing such a case to court nor, for the record, have I ever threatened anyone with such an action. I wouldn't have the cheek to even begin to suggest that I had suffered loss in the last year or two given the buoyancy of Avondale's order book – any claim for damages would be thrown out of court - quite rightly too I say.

 

Dont hold your breath Mr Devil.

LesW, a fair reply. Lets hope people leave it there.