Fake virus warnings

[MarkJ]

Today, I received yet another email warning me about the most destructive virus which can't be detected by the AV companies.... blah blah

Every time I am sent one of these (usually by the same few people), they always contain a huge number of other peoples email addresses in the lengthy forwarding chain.

I have a number of problems with these things.

Firstly, sending emails around the web with loads of other peoples email addresses in full view by forwarding to dozens of others and not using the BCC option to hide the other peoples addresses is an open invitation to spammers who may grab the mail. Not only that, but some people on these lists I have seen probably don't want their email details passing around to all and sundry!

Secondly, forwarding virus warnings is not advisible without first checking the facts. If you lift a relevant piece of the message - e.g postcard warning - and stick the word "hoax" at the end, then use a search engine. Chances are (i.e in every case I have ever seen) the exact wording of your latest fake email will be listed. If you are not sure, ask someone who may be more "clued up" on these things to help decide. I am happy to pass comment on these things if people ask.

Third - these fake warnings are part of the problem as far as slow internet traffic is concerned.

Fourth - they worry some people because of the terrible "tech" things which may happen to your PC and there is no way to stop the evil virus because the "anti virus companies have no cure..."
Now, this is always a good way to spot a fake - if the AV companies cannot cure it, it must be a problem which arose in the last 12-24 hours. After that time, a fix for malware is added to the AV updates.

I hasten to add that I do understand how worrying these warnings can be for some people and that they are only doing their best to help others, but unless people are sure, they should check before sending them on to everyone in their contact list and worrying some of those people...

Mark

[Jan1954]

They appear to be rather like the old-fashioned "chain letters" that we used to receive through the post - but with everyone's address on them.

They seem to be potentially more damaging than the virus warning that they are sending.

[MarkJ]

Yes, they are in some ways Jan. They play on peoples nature - i.e in the case of chain letters, it is usually to help some poor (non existant) unfortunate soul do something like get into the Guinness Book of Records; or, in the case of these virus warnings, they try to get people to pass on the "warning" to help others.
The problem is that most people really don't understand computer security - most folk run an AV program and leave the worry about viruses etc to that, which is quite understandable and perfectly fine. These warning emails always claim that the virus is "not detected by (insert name of top AV program here)..." which of course worries the person who receives it - after all, if their AV program cannot detect this terrible virus, what will they do.

In reality, even if there really was a serious undetectable virus (which there isn't), then, by the time you receive a warning email, forwarded on by your friends and their friends etc, it would have been in the wild for months, perhaps years!

Mark

[NicoUK]

I do so agree, in particular, about people failing to use the BCC option in forwarding emails. I've explained it to so many people and yet they continue to use the CC option, revealing the email addresses of everyone in their address books quite often.

Recently I received yet another chain mail, this time about a poor little girl who had been burnt and it said her family would get 3 cents for every mail forwarded. A quick check on the net showed it to be true that the girl was burnt - but this was a hoax chain mail started in 2005.

[MythicalMarian]

I do so agree, in particular, about people failing to use the BCC option in forwarding emails. I've explained it to so many people and yet they continue to use the CC option, revealing the email addresses of everyone in their address books quite often.

Recently I received yet another chain mail, this time about a poor little girl who had been burnt and it said her family would get 3 cents for every mail forwarded. A quick check on the net showed it to be true that the girl was burnt - but this was a hoax chain mail started in 2005.

Yes - these are the most insidious things imaginable. I have lost track of the number of times I have warned my sister and my friends NOT to forward these damned things. Yet it still goes on. People just don't learn.