Tools: Yet another malware trick (faux greeting cards)

[Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>]

Except this one's a new variant on an old Trojan. Have you been  
receiving a lot of e-mail lately about all those nice e-mail  
greetings cards that your loving friends and family have been sending  
you? I sure have. Don't trust 'em (the cards, not the family <g>):  
http://snopes.com/computer/virus/postcard.asp

Because this trick is so easy to fall for (most of us do get  
occasional e-cards), and because there's a simple lesson on how to  
protect yourself, I thought I'd pass this one along. The simple  
lesson: never click a link contained in an e-mail message to directly  
open a Web page. Always confirm the contents of the link first.

How to protect yourself: copy the link and paste it into a text  
editor* (Simpletext on the Mac or Notepad in Windows). If the address  
still looks legit (e.g., it's from http://ecards.com/ or http:// 
www.hallmark.com instead of 192.168.0.0 or http://example.ru/ 
ecards.html), check with your contact to find out whether they really  
sent you a card. If so, you can copy that address into your browser  
and view your card; better still, type the address yourself. Some e- 
mail software will display the true URL if you hover the mouse cursor  
over the clickable link; Apple's Mail, for example, will do this most  
of the time (not always).

* Don't try this trick using Word unless you know how to convert a  
clickable link into text. Word sometimes (depending on how it and  
your e-mail software are configured) pastes the link as a field. That  
is, it displays the misleading text for the ostensible link as well  
as the true (concealed) destination and leaves the link active, so  
you'll click on text that says "ecard.com" and go to the trap Web  
site instead.

Should you accidentally fall for this particular trick, and if your  
antivirus software doesn't catch it, the kind folks at F-Secure have  
provided details on how to get rid of the problem: http://www.f- 
secure.com/v-descs/small_dam.shtml


----------------------------------------------------
-- Geoff Hart
ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca / geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com
www.geoff-hart.com
--------------------------------------------------
***Now available***  _Effective onscreen editing_
(http://www.geoff-hart.com/home/onscreen-book.htm)


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