I am very surprised that no one has offered the right advice here. This is what should be done, and it will stop you from DOWNLOADING these emails. Every ISP, as far as I know (at least any that is worth the price you pay for the service!), will have an online (web) mail account set up for you on their server. So, for example, if I go to http://mail.JWC@woh.rr.com I will be able to see all of the emails that are on the server waiting to be downloaded. Of course, I first have to type in my username and password. You can do the same!!! Just call your ISP and they will answer any questions--it's really simple. THEN, you simply delete the messages right there on that server (if you send them to trash, make sure you regularly empty the trash--just like at home!). By doing this, you will not download the emails to your system; will not get viruses, etc. ONE MORE STEP LASTLY, what I have done, and recommend EVERYONE to do is the following: Set up your email program on your computer to only SEND emails (SMTP) but NOT RECEIVE (POP3) them. It's quite easy, and I believe it can be done on most email program. HOWEVER, I use Outlook 2002-- so what I say here will be for to do this on that program's interface. But, again, this should definitely be able to be done on Outlook 2000, Outlook express (why would anyone want to use Outlook Express rather than Outlook?). Open your Outlook program. Go to the Tools button on your button bar. Select Send/Receive Setup then Define Send/Receive Groups.... When the window opens you'll probably see only one group (the default group "All Accounts", unless you have more than one account--most people don't). Make sure the All Accounts group is highlighted, and press Edit. When the next window opens, UNCHECK the check box "Receive mail items". Press OK and back out of the windows. Shut down Outlook and then reopen it. From then on, if you hit the send/receive button in the Outlook program, it will only send email, and will not download it. This is what you want. Simply READ your email message on your ISP account sever, as I explained above. You do not NEED to ever download your emails. Doing this (i.e. using your machine's email program for only sending emails, and using your email account on your ISP SERVER and not downloading the messages to your machine) will prevent the possibility of getting viruses, and will spare you from wasted time in waiting for all of these emails to go thru your virus program and be cleaned! SIMPLE, right!! Well it has taken me the entire week this week to find out these things (I didn't always know this stuff, as I am just like you!), but after more than 40 hours of talking to knowledgeable people, doing research, etc., this is what I have discovered. It works, it's simple, and it stops the frustration as far as possible. Why do I say "as far as possible"? Because, even if you perform this procedure, you will still get the emails on your ISP server. BUT, there is nothing YOU can do about that. First, it should be said that this thing is a worm, not a virus. This is what it does: someone you know, and who has your email address in their computer, has the W32Swen.A@mm worm (or one of its many variations) on their computer. That worm on their computer works by detecting all of the email address on that computer, and puts them into an email database that has its own SMTP (email sending) program. Then the worm is setup up with a number of "Froms" and a number of different "Subjects" and will send them to every one any time the infected person uses their computer. BOTTOM line? You will not stop receiving these emails (nor I!) until those people are smart enough to rid their system of the worm! I have set up my email account on my ISP server so that it automatically deletes and puts into the trash any message that has certain subject and/or from words in them. I have about 50 message filters set up now, and it is catching about 80% of this bogus email and trashing it. As the stragglers come in I simply add their subject to the message filter so next time it too will be caught. Being that these programs do have a limited number of from and subjects in them, I'll be filtering them all very soon. But, in a couple of days of doing this, I have made tremendous strides in the problem. I hope this helps all of you. *****A WORD OF ADVICE!!!!! Do your part in spreading this message to others. Copy it and paste it into a word document and then save it, so you can use it to "spread the message to others". If we all get the word out it will help many, and hopefully kill the worm. However, I personally would rather “kill” the progenitor of the worm, if you know what I mean. The FBI, Microsoft, and others don't seem to care that hundreds of thousands of computer users are going thru this. If they cared, they would find the people (whether they are in Sweden, Germany, England, or wherever!), and prosecute them, AND give them 10 or 20 years in prison--REALLY! Only then will these nasty types think twice about playing these "practical jokes"!! That's really how they see it, can you imagine that! Bye, and God Bless you all. JWC

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