Very Important, Fatal Postcard Virus Modified, Know What NOT TO OPEN!
 Sunday, April 20th, 2008

This is super-important, please read this because you may be seeing an e-mail like this within the next few days!  Several days ago, I received an e-mail forward from a family member that warned of a Real Virus Alert, saying get this e-mail message around to your contacts ASAP.  You should be alert during the next few days.  Do not open any message with an attachment entitled "POSTCARD," regardless of who sent it to you.  It is a virus which opens a POSTCARD IMAGE, which burns the whole hard disc C:/ of your computer.  I checked with Snopes and it was something that was reported there almost a year ago (June of 2007).

So I figured it was one of those e-mail forwards that took a year to get to me - you know, I joke that news travels slow in Ohio.

But, lo and behold, in our general inbox today (not our Bulk & Spam Mail), we received an e-mail called "You have received a card from a family member."  The subject is now modified and doesn't include "postcard" until you open the message.  But even then, thinking it was an e-card and forgetting about the virus message from just days before, I clicked on the link.  We all receive e-cards, right?  My mind was elsewhere.  Thankfully it took me to another page which asked me download my "postcard," which was an .exe file, and then I immediately recognized that this was the virus that is being spread around this month and not a web card from someone I know. EXE files are "executable" files that launch actions within your PC, and even from people you trust, I would not advise ever opening an .exe file from an e-mail or e-mail link.

Here is what the e-mail message looks like now.  Please let your e-mail contacts, friends and family know, because this virus is very real and it's better to be warned a million times than not at all and end up with a worthless computer!  Yikes!

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