SOBER.X AND OTHER VIRUSES - PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR ASSOCIATES
PCs have always been a useful tool in the hands of someone who knows what they can do for them and how to get it done. Due in part to lower prices and successful marketing, PC ownership has reached into almost every demographic and are in many homes, often with several per household.
As PCs and the internet have proliferated, so have the hazards of use and ownership, some due to ignorance and some due to malice. The news channels are currently reporting the circulation of a new variant to an existing virus. They are reporting that messages carrying the Sober.X virus, supposedly sent from the FBI and the CIA, are showing up in inboxes everywhere.
As a tech support provider, I am amazed at what otherwise intelligent people do when they sit down at their computers and open their inboxes. Rather than examine the sender and subject of mail messages and do a little bit of "why would I be getting a message like this?" they blunder ahead and open virus laden messages.
Instead of deleting these suspicious messages immediately, still unopened, many people will fall for them and launch the Sober.X virus. Sober.X will then set up shop, scan their email address book and send copies of itself to the user's friends and associates to spread the joy.
People may not know that when a large scale outbreak occurs, there are free tools available for download which can scan their computers and disable the virus(es). One such tool for Sober.X can be found at Symantec. Just download the tool and follow the instructions.
A free Sober.X removal tool may be found at:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.sober.removal.tool.html?Open
Like everything else, an ounce of prevention remains the best policy. If PC users cannot afford one of the many subscription-based virus protection programs, such as Symantec or McAfee, there are several free offerings available. Avast is one example.
In lieu of that, whenever you hear of an outbreak such as this one, don't wait until you suspect that you have the virus. Be proactive and get a free removal tool. Once downloaded, you can scan your PC with it as often as you feel necessary until the threat has subsided.
More information about Sober.X and other viruses may be found at:
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/global/vinfodb.html
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.sober.x@mm.html
John Rowland
Now blogging at http://johnrowland.blogspot.com
Nov. 28, 2005.
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