By the Computer Quack
You may have seen a message telling you about a brand new
virus that is “the worst ever!” and that it was “reported on CNN!” This is a
classic example of a Virus Hoax. These messages have been circulating for
years, and are usually variations on theme, threatening to wipe your hard
disk, among other things.
Other versions tell you about a dying child who wants
emails from around the world before they expire.Or perhaps someone tells you
that if you send the email to 100 people, Bill Gates will give you money.
They all have one thing in common: they are hoaxes and
are simply designed to get you to send out emails to people.
The chances are if you receive an email telling you to
“send it to all your friends” or “everyone in your address book, it is a
hoax. Sending it not only annoys people who are aware of these hoaxes, but
it can also reflect badly on you. Your instant reaction to these emails
should be that they must never be forwarded on. If you want to tell the
person who sent it to you, you can find excellent descriptions of almost all
hoax emails at the following sites:
So if you do receive a suspicious looking warning, take a
look on one of these sites and the chances are you will find it there.
Delete it and you’ve beaten the hoaxer!