Forewarned is forearmed...


>     Red Cross solicitation is a Trojan horse
>     By Robert Vamosi, ZDNet Reviews
>     October 23, 2001 4:16 PM PT
>     URL:
>
>     Septer.Trojan is a Trojan horse that attempts to steal your credit
>     card information by pretending to be a solicitation from the
>     American Red Cross. Septer arrives by e-mail and appears to come
>     from the American Red Cross, the United Way, and the September 11
>     fund. Attempting to exit the donation form results in pop-up
>     windows urging you to complete the form. This Trojan is not
>     widespread and does no damage to one's computer, but because of
>     interest in the events of September 11, the American Red Cross and
>     Symantec are making people aware of Septer. This Trojan horse
>     ranks a 2 on the ZDNet Virus Meter.
>
>     How it works
>     Septer arrives as e-mail that appears to originate from the
>     American Red Cross, the United Way, or the September 11 fund. The
>     e-mail contains an icon of a green-and-blue world with a miniature
>     Microsoft logo. When the recipient clicks the icon, a Web page
>     opens with an appeal for a donation. The text on the donation form
>     reads:
>
>       Terrorist Attacks
>
>       On September 11, 2001, America was hit with the worst strike of
>       terrorism in history. Attacks on the World Trade Center in New
>       York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C., as well as the
>       crash of flight #93 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, have
>       resulted in countless injuries and the loss of thousands of
>       lives.
>
>       Your Support Is Needed
>
>       In response to these attacks, United Way and the New York
>       Community Trust have established the September 11th Fund. Your
>       contribution will be used to help respond to the immediate and
>       longer-term needs of the victims, their families, and
>       communities affected by the events of September 11.
>
>       Please, donate now.
>
>     The solicitation and donation form do not come from the American
>     Red Cross, and information entered into the form doesn't go to the
>     Red Cross. However, attempting to close the donation form without
>     filling it out prompts the following pop-up display:
>
>       Please enter information.
>
>     To close the donation form, press Ctrl-Alt-Delete, and Windows
>     will open the Task Manager. From the Task Manager, highlight and
>     close the Web application hosting the fraudulent donation form.
>     This should close the form without sending any information.
>
>     The American Red Cross has more information about this Trojan
>     horse and how to legitimately make an online donation.
>
>     Removal
>     At this time, only Symantec has updated its antivirus signature
>     files to remove this Trojan horse. For more information on
>     removing Septer, see Symantec.
>

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Dr. Steven Bird
Director of Orchestras
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga