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| Path: Main Street : A Note about Viruses and Attachments |
Dear CharityVillage.com visitor,We don't send file attachments out of the blue to you -- ever.
There are several computer viruses/worms in circulation these days that spoof e-mail addresses. By "spoofing", we mean that a user receives e-mail that looks like it comes from one person when it was actually sent by someone else. The most recent versions of some viruses may also mention CharityVillage in the body of the message.
Because our site is so popular, many of our CharityVillage e-mail addresses are in wide circulation in people's address books. Viruses that use e-mail spoofing take a random name from somewhere on the infected person's hard drive and mail themselves out as if they were from that randomly chosen address. More recently, they have also been able to generate random addresses that don't really exist (e.g. staff@charityvillage.com or support@charityvillage.com).
Unfortunately, the spoofed address in the "from:" field sometimes makes a virus look like it's from a CharityVillage address. Please know that we never send file attachments where we haven't had direct prior contact with you (i.e. unless you've asked us to send you something).
If you receive a message with a file attachment that looks like it's from us, don't open it. It's probably a virus.
There are several steps you should take to prevent trouble with viruses in general:
1. Use antivirus software. You can buy it off the shelf, online, or often through your internet service provider (ISP).
2. Update your virus definitions regularly. There are new viruses being created every day, so make sure to use software that is updated regularly. Learn how to update your software automatically at regular intervals (at least weekly).
3. Don't open any attachments, unless you know that they are coming in advance. Even if you know the person in the "from" field of the message, don't trust the message if it comes with a short, vague, or odd-sounding message like "for your review", or an attachment that ends in .exe, .pif, or .zip.
Viruses are a costly nuisance for everyone, but if we all take the above precautions, we can help to minimize their spread to friends and colleagues.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to write or call me at maggie@charityvillage.com or (778) 836-8181.
All the best,
Maggie Leithead
President +COO
CharityVillage.com
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