ISP e-mail scanner saved me...

Hi malware fighters,

Be aware for an e-mail that says you received a Hallmark’s e-mail card. This can contain a virus.
If your e-mails are filtered through am e-mail filter you are safe. Does a-vast protects us here?

Surfers should beware of opening emails purporting to be from the popular card company Hallmark as they may carry a virus.

Security firm MessageLabs has intercepted emails from 25,000 IP addresses containing a new virus that arrives from the sender postcardsAThallmark.com with the subject line, ‘You’ve received a Hallmark E-Card!’

Along with the email there is an attachment entitled postcard.zip. If opened a Trojan virus will attach itself to the hosts computer and recruit it for a botnet, a web of infected computers.

According to MessageLabs the emails were sent in bursts with a surge of the malicious emails detected on 23 July.

This latest bout of malware is a variation of the Storm botnet which popularised postcard/e-card attacks last year. Web User reported on a similar scam just last month.

“As long as recipients continue to fall for these old tricks, malware authors and spammers will continue to use them,” according to Matt Sergeant of MessageLabs.

polonus

e-card social engineering has been here for some considerable time and the only thing that changes is the reason it was sent (happy birthday, anniversary, etc.) and the card company, etc.

The drill is the same for unsolicited email and I don’t need an ISPs email scanner to save my ass: Never open attachments of click links in unsolicited email.

Hi DavidR,

I know the risk, and did not open it, I knew my ISP removes e-card viruses while on their servers, that is all.
I know rule number one of e-mail security: “NEVER open unsolicited e-mails, whatever the text sent”, I placed the posting here as an additional warning *holiday season you know…

polonus