Virus Hoaxes

There are a lot of viruses out there. But some aren't really out there at all. Virus hoaxes are more than mere annoyances, as they may lead some users to routinely ignore all virus warning messages, leaving them vulnerable to a genuine, destructive virus.

Virus hoaxes are false reports about non-existent viruses, often claiming to do impossible things. Unfortunately some recipients occasionally believe a hoax to be a true virus warning and may take drastic action (such as shutting down their network).

Hoaxes vary from simple e-mails like chain-letters to harmfull messages that motivates people to delete important software parts on their computers.

Next time you receive an urgent virus warning message, be sure to check the list of known virus hoaxes by the links from the sources below:

Sophos: Hoax Information Page

McAfee: Hoax Information Page

Remember: Never open an email attachment unless you know what it is—even if it's from someone you know and trust.

Remember that virus writers can use known hoaxes to their advantage. For example, AOL4FREE began as a hoax virus warning. Then somebody distributed a destructive trojan attached to the original hoax virus warning! The lessons are clear: Always remain vigilant and never open a suspicious attachment.