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One day you’re going to open up your email and find what appears to be a warning about a dire new virus that has the power to wipe out all your files and destroy your hard drive. The person who sent you the email will quote a bunch of seemingly credible sources, such as Microsoft and AOL. About how it was all over CNN. You’ll read about how there’s no method for stopping this virus because Norton, Symantec and McAfee haven’t ever seen anything like this before. About how you need to forward this warning on to everyone you know in order to get the word out.
When you get one of these emails - and you will get them - the best thing you can do with it is to delete it. And then send an email to the person who sent it to you (and ONLY the person who sent it to you) telling them that they just fell for a hoax. Because that’s exactly what it was.
So how exactly can you tell if it’s a hoax? Let’s look at the examples above, which are usually pretty close to what you’ll see. There’s several clues that point to a hoax warning:
- “Microsoft and AOL claim this is the worst virus ever” - this can subsitute a few different companies, such as IBM to make it seem more legitimate, but you need to keep a couple of things in mind: Microsoft, AOL, IBM, etc. are not companies who do virus research. They DO NOT issue virus warnings. Ever.
- “As was reported on CNN” - this one’s easy. Just go to CNN.com and search for ‘virus’. I’m willing to bet that the results you get will be of a medical nature. If you watch CNN with any regularity and haven’t seen anything about a virus, there’s another clue.
- “Norton, et all have no cure for this virus” - while they may not have a cure for such a virus right away, rest assured that if you download new virus definitions for your AV software and it’s able to detect such a virus, it can remove it. Usually within hours of a virus being found “in the wild”, there’s a way to remove it. This is why you need to regularly update your definitions. Weekly at the least, but daily would be better.
- “Pass this information on to everyone in your address book”. This is what actually spreads like a virus. Bogus warnings such as this can generate a huge amount of email traffic from people who just have to let everyone they’ve ever had contact with know about this virus. Please don’t.
There’s no shortage of sites that can help you find out if a virus warning is legitimate or not. In fact, it doesn’t even have to be a virus warning. Ever gotten an email from someplace a long way from where you live about a missing child? These can sometimes be hoaxes as well. The best sites for debunking information are Snopes.com, Vmyths.com, and Don’t Spread That Hoax!
The most important thing to remember about these, is that 9 times out of 10 there isn’t really a virus, but the fact that it causes people to email “everyone they know” makes the email itself spread like a virus, and while a simple email may not be as destructive as a virus, it generates traffic on the net, as well as being another distraction that you have to deal with.
So, if it sounds suspicious, rather than forwarding a virus on, please just do a little Google searching, and save yourself the stress.