Virus Alert?

[idesigngraphic]

So I received a message saying



"Hello I was interested in purchasing your service. I have actually started the project myself but I have not gotten very far. Would you be able to complete it for me within the next two days? I am willing to purchase an extra gig.



I have attached a copy of my project for you to take a look at. Can you let me know how long you think it will take to complete?



Hope to hear from you soon. Cheers."



There was a .rar file attached and I just assumed it’s probably dodgy and reported it. Has anyone else had this happen recently?

[emeraldawnn]

yep… just did… and I told them I couldn’t open the RAR file and went from there… I figured it was spam and I wasn’t going to take a chance. I had to say something apparently not to get dinged.

[idesigngraphic]

Reply to @emeraldawnn: yeah same, only bad thing was I saw it on my phone on the app first and it didn’t say what the file extension was and I tried to open it. Luckily it didn’t download though and could a .rar file actually do anything without being extracted?

[emeraldawnn]

Reply to @idesigngraphic: I don’t think so but don’t quote me on that. I may be tech-savvy but when it comes to viruses… I’m still a little wet behind the ears… so to speak 😃

[Guest lovedit]

.rar file is commonly used like .zip
Or did you mean the whole deal sounded sketchy?

[david388]

Sounds sketchy to me. @idesigngraphic does graphic design, and @emeraldawnn does writing. Seems like it must have been a fairly broad project if you guys both got sent the same thing 🙂

[fonthaunt]

I think it’s very good that you reported it. Hopefully if it’s malicious Fiverr will remove the account quickly. It sounds really suspicious to me. If it’s for real, no harm done, Fiverr can notify the potential buyer that sending files to sellers without more explanation is not a good practice anyway. Better safe than infected!

[r3k0d3d]

.rar & .zip files are mainly used for compression, hence why ppl use them, plus it saves time and effort putting everything in one folder rather than uploading everything individually and yes they are a hackers delight as well as most AV’s won’t scan them on demand but you can still download them and open them in a “virtual” environment like a sandbox app to see if they’re harmful or not and it won’t affect your computer at all, most good AV’s now days have some sort of sandbox function which lets programs and processes run in its isolated virtual environment, if not you can always buy 3rd party software like sandboxie or something and it will do the same (if not better) job.
You can go one step further and open your browser in a sandbox and that will prevent damage from any infections you pick up while browsing & it can stop any existing viruses/malware on your computer from capturing your site login credentials or your online-shopping payment details.

[idesigngraphic]

Reply to @r3k0d3d: Yeah I use .zip files a lot when transferring large psd files if they exceed the 150mb limit and thank you for the tip with the sandbox app! To be fair though, I probably won’t go to the effort of downloading it and just tell the buyer if they have a suspicious file to send me a jpg first.

[r3k0d3d]

Reply to @idesigngraphic: NPS glad I could be of use, I think most good AV’s have sandbox mode, some maybe only in the paid versions, and there’s a few good sandbox stand alone programs, sandboxie been one of the best, then you have things like Shadow Defender, BitBox and Bufferzone etc. I used to use Sandboxie but then got a free upgrade to my AV which has a sandbox mode, that been said I still preferred certain functions of SBxie but I know enough not to worry about these things now days and what I have atm suits my needs 🙂

[superb_articles]

Well I don’t see anything sketchy about this. The reason is just what @r3k0d3d and @lovedit said. Personally, I use rar files to deliver projects that are bulky and separated because it looks neat and you just have to upload once. Plus, it most times reduces the file size too.
@idesigngraphic, I think you should have replied and asked the buyer to send the file(s) in a way that you would be more comfortable with. That way, you will know if it’s fake or malicious

[r3k0d3d]

My last gig involved me been specifically told to upload folders and files into RAR folders, I would have preferred to 7zip them personally but you have to give the customers what they ask for (to a certain degree) 🙂

[idesigngraphic]

Reply to @superb_articles: Yeah I may have missed out on a good gig. One of the first things I did was google the situation, eg. on fiverr someone messaging me about my gig and sending a rar file and people were saying was there was a virus going round about a year ago with different accounts being really friendly and vague saying thank you for the work we do and wanting our services. & Everyone was saying how it’s suspicious they’re thanking us for our services and how that was the first red flag as well as being extremely vague. I just had this weird feeling that perhaps the people behind the virus have improved their dialogue slightly (as it was still very vague despite having a rar file attached, you would think they would have described what they wanted if only very briefly). It’s hard to say though cause I just reported and didn’t check it out any more. But stay safe everyone!

[superb_articles]

Reply to @idesigngraphic: Yes. It’s still good to note suspicious activities. At least it keeps you safe. But I would have chosen to download the file first, since only opening it will expose the virus (if any), then find ways to scan or check for viruses before extracting. Taking risks sometimes is part of what we do :). But either way, we have different mindsets and that’s just my own opinion

[alexandra1987]

https://www.fiverr.com/alexandra1987/add-daily-10-youtube-subscribe-for-1-month