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Question: I just got this message via Nortel's
computer services, so it's probably not a hoax. Spread the
word. If you receive an e-mail titled: WIN A HOLIDAY --
DO NOT open it, it will erase everything on your hard drive.
Forward this letter out to as many people as you can. This
is a new, very malicious virus and not many people know
about it. This information was announced yesterday morning
from Microsoft, please share it with everyone that might
access the Internet. ... Also, do not open or even look
at any mail that says --RETURNED OR UNABLE TO DELIVER --
this virus will attach itself to your computer components
and render them useless. Immediately delete any mail items
that say this. AOL has said that this is a very dangerous
virus and that there is NO remedy for it at this time.
-- S.M.
Answer: I get these types of letters regularly
in my e-mail box. Most people do. Sometimes they reference
the virus called: "Good Times," or "Penpal Greetings" or
even "Join the Crew (or Club)."
The truth is that they are hoaxes. They all reference
an authority -- in this case Nortel, Microsoft and America
Online -- and they all promise that the virus mentioned
arrives as an e-mail then wipes out your hard drive.
You'll also notice that they encourage you to spread the
word. This is the reason for their existence and this is
how they replicate. The author of the letter takes advantage
of people's good nature and the quick dissemination ability
of the Internet.
How can you tell the difference between a fake e-mail
warning and the real thing? With a little bit of knowledge.
An e-mail is a text file. It arrives on your hard drive
via the Internet and then is displayed to you. Unlike a
piece of software or a macro, it is not executed or interpreted.
In order for a computer virus to spread, it needs to execute
some code or programming instructions that can cause the
havoc. Since e-mail is purely a text file, it can't be executed.
There's an exception, but it's easy to watch for. If an
e-mail has a file attachment such as a game or even a word
processing or spreadsheet file, then it may contain a virus.
To spread that virus you have to save the file attachment
to your hard drive and then open it or run it. If the attachment
is a document from an office suite program such as Microsoft
Word, then it may contain a relatively innocuous macro virus.
Today's advanced office packages often have macro capabilities
and virus writers like to exploit these.
A macro is a sort of programming language that can be
embedded into a document to perform simple tasks like math
or mini-tools that help format.
If you find yourself infected with one, it can be removed
with most commercial anti-virus programs. If you receive
a program as an attachment, you can also scan it with an
anti-virus program to clean it before you run it.
Getting rid of the e-mail hoax isn't as easy. You can
delete it from your mailbox. But you'll likely get "reinfected."
Some well-meaning person on the Net will fall for the joke
and you'll likely be on their mailing list.
There's a good information page about hoax viruses on
the Data Fellows Web site at http://www.datafellows.fi/news/hoax.htm.
They make the anti-virus software F-Prot.
Other virus and virus hoax sites:
Computer
Virus Myths
Urban Legends
Reference Page
International
Computer Security Association
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