FW: HUGE "POSTCARD" VIRUS COMING! [Bogus] June 13, 2009
I just received one of those good ol’ fashioned mass FW’s from some family members regarding a “HUGE VIRUS COMING!” that – according to the email – is “the worst virus announced by CNN“. Here’s the content of the message:
Hi All,
I checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus!
I checked Snopes, and it is for real. Get this E-mail message sent around to your contacts ASAP.PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS!
You should be alert during the next few days. Do not open any message with an attachment entitled ‘POSTCARD FROM HALLMARK,’regardless of who sent it to you. It is a virus which opens A POSTCARD IMAGE, which ‘burns’ the whole hard disc C of your computer.
This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list. This is the reason why you need to send this e-mail to all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it.
If you receive a mail called’ POSTCARD,’ even though sent to you by a friend, do not open it! Shut down your computer immediately. This is the worst virus announced by CNN.
It has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept.
I went ahead and did some quick research, as I often do in these cases. Mass-forwarded emails warning of incoming virus threats are always fishy, so I’d rather doublecheck than help spread the panic.
As expected, the following article from About.com accurately described the email I had received:
Thus I quickly went ahead and informed my family members that this “huge incoming virus” is completely bogus. There are some additional articles elsewhere, too: Sector Zero hoax, Virtual Card for You “Virus” is a Hoax (from 2001!). Needless to say, the number of sources disproving the “warning” greatly outnumber the sources supporting it.
Here are some added tips to keep in mind, if you ever receive this email (or any email similar to it) in the future:
- Verify the sources. When someone claims to have checked with a news source (such as CNN or Snopes), they should provide a link.
- Search for more information online. Before you start panicking and forwarding the email to everybody on your contact list (a great way of collecting email addresses for spamming, unfortunately), check to see if there are any other warnings online. When major virus threats are imminent – and when anti-virus software providers are sending out warnings – they alerts are quickly picked up by other news sources. (News agencies are in the business of spreading panic, after all.)
- If you have proof that the email is a hoax, let everyone know. Calmly respond to the bulk email with links to credible sites. Provide an excerpt from the article and politely inform them that the email is a hoax. (Hopefully they haven’t unplugged their computer from the wall yet.)
Cheers!
Posted in Technology, Web Culture