By: Bruce Krever
If you've got an email account, it's probably already happened to you. You download your mail one morning, and in among all the business and personal letters, forwarded e-jokes and porno site spam is another, more sinister looking little treat. Your pulse quickens slightly as the subject header grabs your attention. "DEADLY VIRUS ALERT" it trumpets. You nervously open the email and read it.
The message explains that there's a new computer virus that will destroy the contents of your hard drive and/or steal all your passwords. The virus might allegedly be in the form of an email attachment, or it might allegedly be a "trojan horse" - a seemingly useful piece of software (like a screen saver) free for download from the Web that actually performs malicious actions without the user's knowledge or permission. The letter, usually forwarded by a friend, is claimed to have originated from a well-known company like Microsoft or AOL, or from the computer services department of a major university or government office. You are urged to forward this email to everyone you know, who in turn will forward it to everyone they know, and so on.
If this has happened to you, and you're one of the people who does as the message says and forwards it on to everyone in your address book, you have already been an unwitting victim of a virus hoax. There are a number of things you should know about the phenomenon of virus hoaxes.
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By forwarding the virus hoax to your friends, you may cause e-mail servers to crash. That's what happens when servers are swamped with millions of forwards of forwards of forwards... |
Virus writers
You've no doubt heard of computer virus writers. This odd sub-species of humanity consists of mostly male computer geeks with twisted psyches. Virus writers try to wreak havoc on the world by writing small programs that can damage computer data. They are usually self-taught computer programmers without the talent or programming knowledge to do anything productive. This is why so many viruses never spread: they are so badly written that they don't work properly, if they "work" at all.
Hoax writers
Virus hoax writers, on the other hand, have no computer programming skills whatsoever. Perhaps they fantasize about being virus writers someday, but for now, they simply write cheesy emails - all of them remarkably similar in tone and wording - in which they pretend that a new computer virus has been unleashed upon the world.
Virus hoaxes
How do you know if the email message you've received is a hoax or a legitimate warning? Simple. They're almost all hoaxes. I've never yet received an email warning of a virus that was legitimate. If the hysterical tone of the message and the other tell-tale signs of virus hoaxes (see second paragraph of this article) aren't enough to convince you that the warning is bogus, go to the F-Secure (formerly Data Fellows) Website: www.datafellows.com/news/ hoax.htm. The link given here will take you to a page with all known virus hoaxes linked in alphabetical order. So it only takes a couple of minutes to verify that the warning you've received is a hoax. You can also look up hoaxes as well as actual computer viruses at Symantec's Anti Virus Research Centre: www.symantec.com/avcenter/vinfodb.html.
What to do
When you get one of these frantic messages warning of a new virus that will destroy your computer, your data, claim your first-born child, etc., simply delete it. (You should do the same thing with chain letters, by the way.) If you feel you must, go to one of the Websites listed here first to verify that it is a hoax, then delete the letter. If you can't find the "virus" listed there, it might be a new hoax, or it might be a legitimate warning. Or, maybe you need to work on your alphabetical order skills.
What not to do
Do not, under any circumstances, follow the message's instructions and forward it on to everyone you know. Why not? You are only doing exactly what the pathetic virus hoax writer wants you to do: spread mindless alarm and (possibly) cause email servers to crash. That's what happens when email servers are swamped with millions of forwards of forwards of forwards… When you forward one of these messages you are unwittingly helping the hoax writer achieve his goal: the cheap thrill of inciting panic and chaos. Don't be a patsy: delete the message.
Precautionary measures
If you're really concerned about viruses, read up on them from reliable sources. Visit Symantec's or F-Secure's Website and read a few hoaxes (e.g., Wobbler, Win A Holiday, Budweiser Frogs) to get a feel for them so you'll recognize them for what they are. And practise safe computing. But don't forward hoax warnings and get other people's knickers in a knot. There's enough spam and junk mail circling the globe already.
Bruce Krever, former jazz musician, teacher, and copy editor, lives in Toronto and is now working as a layout artist, production person, and Macintosh technical support person for a publishing services company. He also loves learning about-and trying to play-chess.
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