Thank you. I'll be watching.

Thanks, I sent the warning to a couple friends.

I sent it to my DD's and DB. Thank you Vikki.

Thanks, I've received that message once in a while for a few months now. I suspected it was a virus and never opened it. Now I'm glad that I ignored it.

This is a true threat but is easily identified. Executable attachments (ending in ".exe") should never be opened from an unknown source without at least scanning it.

This shows the danger of using one email address too. Whenever I use a throwaway address and get an email that says there's a problem with my account, I laugh.

Vendors do not contact people this way. People really need to educate themselves to the basic dangers. Lately there's been a big downturn in the number of viruses out there because people did get affected enough to start using antivirus programs. Then it turned more to "malware" including spyware and the like. Now however, people have become complacent and forget about the importance of securing a computer. All too many get a new computer and rather than doing the correct thing, that is to secure it, they immediately go online to try it out and tell everyone about the new machine. And they get infected. Now that there's a numbness to the true threat of viruses, people not having, using and/or updating antivirus, firewalls, etc, we can probably expect more to come but at the same time, there'll likely be the hoax problem too, which can be just as bad, if not worse.

Think of it this way: When you open email, and for that matter surfing the net to a point, you're having sex with everyone on the internet. Are you going to use protection?

You should have a good firewall. Windows is not a good firewall. You should have an antivirus program and update it regularly. You should have an antispyware program and perhaps more than one. It's a good idea to avoid using Internet Explorer as your browser, but if you do you should at least secure it as best you can.

Also keep in mind that when you receive emails that are suspicious, it's not difficult to do some checking. Look at the attachments before you open them and never let your computer open them automatically.

One of the most dangerous phrases out there is "send this to everyone you know" because people feel a need to do this. I get a little worked up about this because for some reason people feel compelled to do whatever an email says to do. Accordingly, they normally send far more hoaxes than they do factual information. And 2 minutes of basic research would usually show the difference.

Operating a computer is much like operating a car. With the right comes responsibility and if you don't show the responsibility you can easily lose your rights. You owe it to yourself, but more importantly, you owe it to others to use the vehicle responsibly, whether the vehicle is a car or computer.

People wouldn't be writing the viruses, spyware, etc, if they weren't effective. Taking simple precautions will render them much less effective. Don't be afraid of computers or the internet but be informed enough to protect yourself.

Not trying to come off as a lecture, just a precaution. Here's wishing you happy and safe computing.