Hotmail Virus Scam!

[powelly]

Could hotmail be trying to scare its users into upgrading their free accounts to it premium service.

Earlier tonight my wife tried to email a jpg from her hotmail account, on trying to upload it she got this message!

clicking the link takes you to hotmails premium sign up page.

now the way I understand it there is no way a jpg can carry an active virus ( feel free to prove me wrong here ) and secondly when she tried again a minute later the "virus" had gone and she was able to upload and send the picture

That stinks of intimidation to me!

 

[Nick M]

A jpeg can carry a virus. It looks and acts like a picture, but a very decent programmer can make it carry out an action, such as executing a virus.

 

[ZAnwar]

yep, what nick says, tis true!

 

[powelly]

new one on me, although Im guessing if image (taken with my 7650) emailed to my pc) were infected then the Norton on my isp and AVG on the pc would have picked it up.

Any ideas on where to find more info on viri [is that right] in jpgs?

just found this

http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/10792_1365871

and

http://www.infosecuritymag.com/2002/jun/digest17.shtml

although in fairness the virus has to be on the machine and in themselves the graphics file are harmless.