Essential Postcard Virus Know How
A postcard virus is just like any other virus that the internet world has encountered. (And on occasion, a tad worse!)
One of the most common viruses out there is the hoax or bogus email electronic messages that we usually come across while we are online minding our own business!
The thing that makes these electronic virus nasties such a challenge is that we don't always know if it's a REAL postcard or something just cooked up by a disgruntled software employee who has a weird sense of humor.
So it pays to be diligent about what you click on!
Receiving a harmful electronic postcard (usually disguised as a virtual postcard from an anonymous friend) and clicking on it to see what it is...
Can bring a quick end to your internet surfing faster than being slammed by a massive wave at your local surfbeach!
Understanding The Postcard Virus
It's vital to know whether a message contains a virus or not - so here are a few tips to consider, especially if you receive a postcard that you're not sure about.
By the way, some folks call these nasties Trojans, malware, or viruses on the net.
They usually appear in your email in-box as a fake e-card or virtual postcard.
Here are some examples:
- A Hallmark e-Card from a friend!
(What friend? This should sound warning BELLS!) - You've received a postcard from Dad!
(Er, why is my dad sending ME a postcard?) - Colleague sent you a postcard from egreetings.com!
(What colleague? Never heard of it. WARNING!) - You have received a Birthday e-card!
(That'd be cool - if it was my birthday!)
Virus warning!
These sorts of virtual postcards seem to be legitimate, especially when they use a familiar e-card company name like Hallmark.
But no matter what, when receiving such emails you should be really careful - no matter how curious you are about it!
Right at this point you will want to CURB your excitement.
And secondly - attempt to verify the email before clicking on it or opening any link inside it.
If you do not recognize the sender then investigate first before opening it!
That cute so called 'Hallmark' virtual postcard could be a postcard virus waiting to hatch itself on your system!
Other Virtual Postcard Ruses
Some emails are actually disguised as legitimate postcard virus warnings.
If you received forwarded email messages such as the good old Warning - Postcard Virus, please read carefully!
Don't panic - follow everything that the email is saying. Bogus postcard virus warnings usually contains links that seem to be legitimate to check the authenticity of the email. Most often, if this is a virus, then you are taken to a completely different site that causes the problem.
You can avoid this sort of thing 99% of the time by using an Apple Mac computer!
If you receive this kind of electronic postcard warning, please avoid from forwarding it to control the spread of the e-disease!
Other Things You Can Do
Distinguishing electronic postcard trojans and other internet nasties is easy enough to do. Follow these steps to achieve that:
- Like we mentioned, when downloading or receiving emails that make mention of an electronic postcard, please try not to open it immediately. Always make sure that those files are safe first.
- Make sure that your anti-virus software is up to date. This will be a great aid for battling those trojan nasties that want to go to war with you. Always scan files that seem potentially suspicious. Setup your anti virus software to scan new files automatically.
- Lastly, be careful with clicking links in messages from unrecognized senders or unfamiliar sources. Clicking on an unsafe link won't cause the sky to fall in but could lead to you calling in 'the web guy' to get your computer feeling better again.
It's better to be safe first, wouldn't you agree?
Play around with some of the related postcard ideas below!
Fight back at the nasties!
