When you receive an email with warnings about virus and instructions on what to do to protect yourself

Is It a Virus or a Hoax?

When you receive an email with warnings about virus and instructions on what to do to protect yourself, STOP. READ THE FOLLOWING BEFORE TAKING ANY ACTIONS! This list is compliments of Nathan Williams and his company n-line computers.

1) Check to see if the warning is a hox. All email warnings can be checked to see if they are hoaxes at any of the following sites:

Norton site http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html

Trend Micro site: http://www.antivirus.com/pc-cillin/vinfo/hoaxes/hoax.asp

Or you can go to your favorite anti-virus vendors website. They all have a hoax page.

2) Any email which says "Forward this on to everyone in your address book" is a HOAX. (In Texas we call this the aggie virus. As it depends on your being gullible enough to spread the warning for them. It almost better then a real virus.)

3) Any virus warning that says "There is NO CURE for this virus" is a HOAX. Anti-virus vendors make their living by cracking the latest viruses. Any new virus is cracked in hours of discovery. And if enough time has occurred to e-mail "warnings" about a "new virus" then enough time has gone by to make a cure for it. If the virus is a major new outbreak then you may get E-mail about a CURE not a warning of doom. (Think about it. If a anti-virus vendor COULDN'T cure a new virus would they admit it? I think not. Bad for business...)

4) Legitimate virus warnings always give you a link to more information about the virus on their website, and always say who they are from. The only legitimate virus warnings I've ever received are those from my own ISP (Internet Service Provider) and warnings direct from an anti-virus vendor and THEN only because I signed up for that kind of e-mail. Microsoft, Symantec, etc, don't make it a general practice to warn every one who has an email address - they don't have time for that sort of thing.

5) Virus warnings that tell you, "This information was released from Microsoft this morning" is a HOAX. If this was true then where's the link to Microsoft's website? If there is no link then DON'T trust IT!

6) NEVER EVER follow the instructions of an email which tells you to delete any files. Let me repeat that AGAIN. NEVER EVER follow the instructions of an email which tells you to delete any files. If you are really suspicious of a file then run a virus scanner on it.

99% of virus warnings (approx) I receive are hoaxes. Hoaxes are designed to scare people and forwarding them on only clutters up email boxes. Please, do your research before you forward on these warnings. If you can't be bothered doing your research, then don't forward ANY of the warnings since they are rarely legitimate.

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