I hate to sound holier than thou but there is no excuse for spreading a virus these days. All you have to do is practice safe computing. When downloading e-mails, read the entire header information. Don't open questionable e-mails or those from Nigerian millionaires. Be aware of phishing and other scams, use a virus checking program, make sure your firewall is enabled, and, most important, use a computer system that is inherently immune to viruses. For a number of years I worked in a university setting where virus creation was the favorite sport of computer science majors. It's easy and fun and you get to screw with the minds of the establishment. But it's also a pain in the ass if you want to get any real work done. For the last 20 years my computers have been almost virus free by taking these precautions: 1. My personal computing is done on a Mac. I have been a dedicated Apple addict since 1984 when I was a founding member of the University Apple consortium. Unfortunately my college was in IBM's backyard and every professor got an IBM PC for free. Over the last two decades I have had many computers. My Macs have been almost virus free, no more than a hand full of viruses in 20 years. My IBMs have had far too many viruses to count. The only viruses I ever got on the Mac were when I ran PC programs using Boot Camp or some other IBM type emulator. I have little need for that any more since most contemporary software is released simultaneously on the Mac and PC. 2. I use a virus checking program on both types of computer regularly. Very few viruses on the Mac. Many on the PC. 3. I don't play internet games on my computer. 4. For real serious work, I use a clean computer that is NOT connected to the internet. Then I burn a disc and transfer it to another computer for distribution. 5. I read most of my mail on an older laptop that uses a non Intel processor and an operating system so ancient that virus makers have forgotten how to attack it. My current laptop is a 12" aluminum Powerbook, a gem of a computer. This may be a Draconic approach but my time is too limited to be consumed by virus elimination and hard disc restoration. Computers, especially refurbished ones, are now cheap enough so that you can buy several and use them for dedicated tasks. Fo a universal portable computer I use an iPad. I make sure my boat hull doesn't leak either. It's in the same category as virus protection. Larry Z