COMMENT

Computer WORMS complicate the security situation.
Unlike viruses they may enter your computer while you are hooked up to the Internet without any connection to e-mail messages or e-mail use. Residing on your computer, if not detected by an excellent and up-to-date antivirus program, they will then become activated by any of a great number of triggers. Perhaps when you next turn on your machine or reboot it. Perhaps according to a particular date. Perhaps when you start MSIE (Microsoft Internet Explorer), or some other program. They may then make your machine make noises, attach themselves to files on your computer already, attach to and assume the name of attachments you are receiving by e-mail, or occupy your computer resources and slow your machine while filling your memory or storage.

"E-mail spoofing is the forgery of an e-mail header so that the message appears to have originated from someone or somewhere other than the actual source.

This will usually occur if someone you know has been infected with a virus and they have your address in their address book.

This type of spam is often used in an attempt to get recipients to open, and possibly infect their system.

The best course of action would be to delete these e-mails and never open any e-mails that you are unsure about.

To ensure that your computer is virus free you should make sure that you have the latest signature files available for EZ Antivirus and then run a full virus scan, if the results show zero infections then there is nothing to worry about."

CAUTION
Worms which use e-mail address lists.
Increasingly dominant throughout 2003, and continuing, is the use of real e-mail addresses deceptively programmed into the "FROM" sections of e-mails. This has been a frequent practice of spammers who hope to remain free of prosecution and persecution as well as responsibility for the waste of resources they cause.

Most obvious from the fall of 2003, I have found "REPLY" e-mails being sent to my "health@earthtym.net" address, primarily from e-mail postmaster programs. These have protected the intended recipients from usual worm or virus attachments by returning it to the INSERTED "From" address, which is mine! This e-mail address was only set up when I changed my website host to Freeservers.com and indicated the "health@" e-mail as the administrative contact to the "protected" Internet URL registration site of "WHOIS.com" This address has NEVER been used to SEND e-mails. It's presence on the Internet in this capacity indicates a fraudulent ghosting of it.

The FACT that my administrative address is being used this way signals that ANY valid e-mail address can be likewise "kidnapped" and used by anonymous cowards to provoke others in YOUR name. It is tragic that the only SAFE way to share an attachment with friends, associates or customers is to either send an ALERT e-mail first to indicate that you will be sending an attachment and what its idiosyncratic filename is (nothing common or predictable), or, to post it on your personal or business website, perhaps temporarily, and send the webpage address in your e-mail.

There is NO BENEFIT in constantly changing your e-mail address as any new address you pick may be discovered within weeks and simply encourage you to spend many hours, and irritate all of your recipients, with the notifications of yet another change. Ironically, communicating in the digital age is becoming MORE dificult than previous methods, not easier nor cheaper. Because of abusive over-competitive mass marketing application --- snail (junk) mail, (telemarketing) telephone, (computer-dialing) voicemail, (batch) fax, and (spam) e-mail have all now become largely redundant as communication tools.

COMMENT
Worms, which spoof, are spiritually destructive.
By the deception of others, your ignorance and your fear --- they prompt you to distrust and hold responsible friends, relatives and associates for a disaster of which they are innocent in involvement beyond their historical caring and support for you.

It is ALWAYS more intelligent and more spiritually strong to determine WHAT the meaning of an error is, HOW to correct it, and WHERE it originated -- BEFORE assessing responsibility, and penalty. Otherwise, the penalty enacted in haste may turn out to be a further disaster of our pride, fear and ignorance and hurt us more than we ever wished on others.

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