[LINK] *** Nimda virus/worm alert! ***

[Robin Whittle]

Most Linkers know about Nimda already.

For what it is worth, this is what I am sending to friends and one or
two lists I am on.   I have tried to make a web page which helps
non-technical people understand at least a bit of what they need to know
to protect their computer from Nimda.  

   http://www.firstpr.com.au/security/

Below is what I am mailing to them.


   - Robin


- - - - - - - 

Sorry about the lack of personal greetings - I am sending this out to
lots of people and some lists quickly.  

You should not forward any virus alerts, such as this one, to friends
without first establishing that it is valid - otherwise you might be
spreading a virus hoax.  The pages listed below gives you information on
which to judge the veracity of this alert.


Nimda virus/worm alert!

Most people use Windows computers with Microsoft Internet Explorer
and/or Outlook Express.  These two programs are vulnerable to a new
worm/virus which has been running wild since 18 September 2001.   I urge
you to take the steps you need to protect your computer from infection
with this virus.  Once infected, your computer will use email, the LAN
and direct Internet access to attempt to infect other vulnerable
computers.   Once infected, your best option may be to reformat your
hard drive (due to the way Nimda infects executables, document files and
even zip files), re-install the operating system and all application
programs and restore your data from backups.  (We do all keep regular
backups, don't we now??)  

I have placed some basic information on protecting from Nimda at:

   http://www.firstpr.com.au/security/

This links to authoritative sites for more information on this and other
security threats:

   http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2001-26.html
   http://www.datafellows.com/nimda/nimda.shtml
   http://www.securityfocus.com

I am not an expert on Nimda and I can't tell you any more than is on my
page.   Please read it and take action - because the likely alternative
is that your computer will become infected and you will lose a lot of
data and have to spend several days (and/or pay someone) to recover
fully.

  Robin Whittle