Pagancat13

I understand that many people only wish to protect their friends computer systems from viruses, or to pass on helpful information, etc. Which is a good thing only if information that is passed on is true.

I like to help protect my friends PCs not only from viruses but various other types of attacks and on occasion post links on Facebook to news articles about potential threats or send an email to someone in particular. On occasion I have even forwarded an email after I have verified the information to be either true/fact or have been unable to prove it false (in this case I tell people that I have been unable to determine its validity).

That being said, this is why this note is titled "Hoax Emails and Forwards can be as bad as some viruses..."

Email viruses spread via email...So do many of the virus hoaxes and other hoaxes, which take up not only space in your inbox but can lead to misinformation, heavier loads on servers and in some cases cause people to delete important systems files on the belief that these are a virus when they are not.

To quote McAfee's Virus Hoaxes site (see link below) "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." Also noted on this site is that some virus makers will use these hoax virus emails as a way to attach a real virus which can be spread by well meaning people.

The major anti-virus makers all have a database of some kind of all the known viruses and some even list the hoax viruses as well.

Please before forwarding something you have received check to ensure that your not adding to the problem by personally verifying the information you send.

Norton from Symantec Viruses & Risks has some information that can help with showing how viruses can be speard and some prevention tips. Also searching the Symantec site can help with verifying a virus as fact or hoax.
http://www.symantec.com/norton/security_response/index.jsp

Trend Micro's Threat Encyclopedia A search able database of malware, spyware/greyware and vulnerabilities along with a risk rating. (Trend Micro also has a free online virus scanner)
http://threatinfo.trendmicro.com/vinfo/

http://www.snopes.com/

These are just a few but there are many sites that have dedicated themselves to the prevention of the spread of email hoaxes.

So please, If you truly want to be helpful, check the information of an email warning before clicking the forward button. It only takes a few minutes.

1) Never open an email attachment, even from someone you trust, without checking it with a virus scanner, and when in doubt, just hit the delete button. We can protect our own systems by being vigilant but we can not be sure of how well other peoples systems are protected. Also, I have personally found this one to be of help, if you receive a weird email from someone on your contact list. Contact them, preferably at a different contact place, and let them know. They may have a virus, they may not, their email may have been hacked, it may not have been but its definitely better to let them know so they can check. Ask them to do the same for you.

2) Make sure your anti-virus is up-to-date

3) Viruses don't just lurk in emails, or email attachments. You can just as easily pick up a virus by browsing the web. Clicking a link in a Facebook email, clicking on a link on a web page. Even through embedded flash or java scripting on web pages.