Virus Hoaxes

 

There are a lot of viruses out there. But some aren't really out there at all. Virus hoaxes are more than mere annoyances, as they may lead some users to routinely ignore all virus warning messages, leaving them vulnerable to a genuine, destructive virus. In addition, they can cause as many problems as real viruses as most of them ask the recipient to forward the warning to everyone they know, resulting in thousands or millions of useless mail messages.

However, virus writers can use known hoaxes to their advantage. For example, AOL4FREE began as a hoax virus warning. Then somebody distributed a destructive trojan attached to the original hoax virus warning! The lessons are clear:

• Always remain vigilant
• Never open a suspicious attachment

Most hoaxes have the following characteristics:

They include instructions to send the warning to everyone you know.

The warning does not refer you to any antivirus software company website.

They refer to official sources and are written to sound official.

They warn of horrific consequences.

They warn of destruction of hardware.

They refer to new technology which is not well understood.

They are self-contradictory.

They refer to well-known names in the computer industry, the media or government.

Next time you receive an urgent virus warning message, be sure to check the list of known virus hoaxes at:  http://vil.mcafee.com/hoax.asp?