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Thread ID: 21680	2002-07-01 09:31:00	WARNING!! Virus Warnings should not come by Email!!!	Graham Petrie (449)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
58824	2002-07-01 09:31:00	Hello, It seems lots of people are falling for hoax virus warnings sent by email recently. In my experience the only people who send virus warnings by email are system administrators, who also attach links to a reliable source indicating the authenticity of their warning. If you receive a virus warning by email that does not contain a link proving it's reliability, ignore it! If you are worried you can check it out at Symantec.com Hoax Warnings (securityresponse.symantec.com). If the warning you have received is a hoax, please email the person who sent it to you and inform them. Also tell them on no uncertain terms not to do it again. Emails like this are worse than spam as they can (as in the case of the jdbgmgr.exe/Teddy Bear hoax) damage your system. Please, please, please check them out before you beleive any warnings you receive via email. Hoax virus warnings usually contain poor grammar adn spelling. Also, Microsoft does not send or notify of updates by email. Emails pertaining to contain software updates are most likely hoaxes containing viruses or trojans. Ignore them. G P	Graham Petrie (449)
58825	2002-07-01 10:36:00	Well you must admit that getting a virus warning from a computer is very authentic sounding. I mean, hey, it's a computer! Anything that a computer says HAS to be right! Like, come on! If a scruffy individual came up to me on the street, handed me a piece of paper and told me to go home and delete some files, would I do it? Of course not! And so what if the virus warning has been forwarded heaps of times after first starting life with someone I didn't know in Brazil. The English might be really bad BUT IT CAME FROM THE COMPUTER!!	Heather P (163)
58826	2002-07-01 12:57:00	I guess that is why the hoaxes work, and why there is a need for me to remind everyone to be a little less nieve. G P	Graham Petrie (449)
58827	2002-07-02 00:11:00	Yeah well, sometimes its just friends trying to be helpful to each other....... After all if you saw someone coming at your friend with a knife, you would warn them. Right?	dot_com (558)
58828	2002-07-02 00:28:00	Exactly. That is why I am arning everyone to be careful out there. I didn't expect anyone to jump dowm my throat when I am just giving everyone a friendly reminder. I was going to put it as a reply to the most recent post regarding the jmdbgmgr hoax, but I thought it was pertinent for everyone, so started a new thread. In the last three or so days, three people have posted here asking how to fix their PC's after they had fallen for a hoax. Four or more others posted here requesting info on emails they received which also turned out to be hoaxes. This thread is not to insult anyone, but rather to remind you that just because your friend told you, doesn't mean it's tru. That is why I included a link to the symantec page, so that if your well-meaning friends do send you hoax warnings (with the best of intentions) you can a) Check them ou, and b) Quickly warn your friend not to believe the warning themselves if it does turn out to be a hoax. I am not saying you should ignore all virus warnings. What I am saying is that we should all be a little on guard when it comes to internet security, and should adopt good practices such as including reference information in all warning emails as well as double-checking all warnings before we believe them by default. Let me ask you: Do you wish to have a virus infect your system? No? Why not? A: Because it is potentially harmful, right? So, why should you then blindly believe all warnings, and follow the instructions in them to "remove" the virus (which doesn't exist) and thus harm your system? Hoax warnings which damage your system are as bad as viuses themselves. If you received a virus from a friend, would you not reply to them to let them know so they could remove it? So too should you let you friends know they have been sending you hoaxes so as to stop them from doing it in the future. It is all about education people. Heather, I am sure you know all this already!!! I was surprised by your reply. G P	Graham Petrie (449)
58829	2002-07-02 00:30:00	Sorry about the absolutely shocking grammar and spelling in that last one, I was typing without my contact lenses in! Not too bad though I thought! G P	Graham Petrie (449)
58830	2002-07-02 00:53:00	So much bandwidth, so few (email) messages... maybe the internet police could vet emails for virus hoaxes ;0)	Dolby Digital (160)
58831	2002-07-02 09:33:00	Sorry. People don't send me hoaxes any more cause I research them and fire back a note telling them to research it themselves and how to do it. The hoaxes that really stun me are the ones with really bad spelling and grammar with 6 sets of forwarding arrows AND PEOPLE BELIEVE IT! A maths teacher at a school I once worked at was telling me about some Geography assignments that the kids showed him. High marks cause they were beautifully formatted with wonderful graphs. The graphs were the wrong type and meaningless, but because they looked good - full marks. I'm a cynic, I've seen too much "Garbage in, garbage out"	Heather P (163)
58832	2002-07-02 14:08:00	Good on you for putting the post up. I agree, too many people just react to whatever they receive without taking the time to stop and think it through. The Virus warnings, the nigerian money scams and those damn send this to your friends letters that arrive are starting to get really annoying.	dipstick01 (445)
58833	2002-07-02 22:16:00	Graham, doesn't this deserve to be a FAQ #26a?? Like you said, there are always posts on here asking about so-called viruses and instead of giving people a detailed explanation that this is a hoax, go to Symantec blah blah blah, they could just be directed to the FAQ. If it is written like you have just done here it might wake them up a bit. I can't count the number of times I get sent these hoaxes from particular people and no matter how many times I tell them it is a hoax, check the details out at such and such a link at Symantec they still keep sending me them without checking it out for themselves first. Heather, you are lucky that your contacts have got the message!!	Susan B (19)
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