If you receive a message saying 'you are spreading the sobig' virus, it's unlikely (although possible) that you are the offender.

This worm and its variants will pick addresses it has obtained at random and send messages that look as though you are the sender. If you receive one of these messages, please don't start yelling at the person who sent it to you as they likely aren't even aware that the message was sent to you on their behalf.

Being prepared in advance is still your best Protection. This is especially important when you have two or three nasty viruses and/or worms circulating at the same time. Always ensure that your virus definitions are up to date. It doesn't make much sense installing a virus protection program if you aren't keeping your definitions up to date. You can check your system right now using an online scan at HouseCall.

Another option is to check your overall security risks. Do you have open ports that will enable hackers to access your computer? Symantec offers a Security Check to determine whether you are at risk. Go to Symantec and on the left hand side, scroll down to Symantec Security Check. You'll have two option to choose from on that page.

If you scan your system and find a virus or worm, you might find the removal tool here:
Removal Tools

And while I understand that it is tedious trying to keep up with Microsoft and it's patches and updates, please at least check them out to see whether your system is at risk. Try this link for the updates - it might not be as busy.

Microsoft Alternate Download

Did you wake up to a full mailbox today? Are you receiving strange messages suggesting you are spreading a virus? Be aware that this virus steals any email addresses it can - and not just from your address book. Any pages on your computer that contain an email address are vulnerable. They can be pages that are stored in your History files, Temp files as well as old web pages from your site that are stored on your computer. Your computer is scanned looking for email addresses.

The important thing to remember is that it may look like the message came from someone you are familiar with but they probably did not send the message - even though it looks that way. Please, please keep your virus definitions up to date. There's no point having virus protection if you aren't keeping the definitions up to date.

There are always rumors and mis-statements made when another virus hits. Woody's Office Watch does a great job explaining the ins and outs of this one. He suggests you can check to see if you have the Sobig.f virus by looking for WINPPR32.EXE on your system. If you find it on your computer, you can go to: http://us.mcafee.com/virusInfo/default.asp?id=description&virus_k=100561 for details on how to remove it from your system.

The last few days have wreaked havoc on thousands of computer due to the MSBlast worm. If you haven't downloaded the proper protection for your operating system or you need the MSBlast Removal Tool - go here:
ZDNet Downloads

For more detailed information about how it works and how to get rid of it, take a look at Jim's message.