Another nasty virus 4

[tusconpapa]

A new virus has just been discovered that has been classified by Microsoft
(

http://www.microsoft.com/)

and by McAfee (

http://www.mcafee.com/)

as the most
destructive ever! This virus was discovered yesterday afternoon by McAfee and
no vaccine has yet been developed. This virus simply destroys Sector Zero from
the hard disk, where vital information for its functioning are stored.

This virus acts in the following manner: It sends itself automatically to
all contacts on your list with the title "A Virtual Card for You". As soon as
the supposed virtual card is opened, the computer freezes so that the user
has to reboot. When the ctrl+alt+del keys or the reset button are pressed,
the virus destroys Sector Zero, thus permanently destroying the hard disk.
According to news broadcast by CNN (

http://www.cnn.com/).

This alert was
received by an employee of Microsoft itself. So don't open any mails with
subject "A Virtual Card for You". As soon as you get the mail, delete it.
Please pass on this mail to all your friends.  Forward this to everyone in
your address book. I would rather receive this 25 times than not at all. 

Also: Intel announced that a new and very destructive virus was discovered
recently. If you receive an email called "An Internet Flower For You", do not
open it. Delete it right away! This virus removes all dynamic link
libraries(.dll files) from your computer. Your computer will not be able to
boot up.

 

[DeanT]

I don't know if this is helpful or not, but I was mailed these links to virus "hoax" sites that dispell these as being legitimate threats. Check it out.

http://www.europe.f-secure.com/hoaxes/vcredit.shtml

http://www.europe.datafellows.com/virus-info/

http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/

 

[svanels]

Mr TusconPapa you want Us to believe this, and you put only

http://www.microsoft.com

as a reference? nor a date. There are a lot of virus today, but there are a lot of Jokes also. If you want I can send you a Dutch one, which Formats the harddisk. It didn't confinced me because I run NT, and a 95 box appeared telling me that formatting was going on.

It has some very nice screen effects

Regards S. van Els
SAvanEls@cq-link.sr

 

[jmarler]

The so called virus that Mr TusconPapa tells us about here is a known hoax . . . check out McAfee's own report on this virus at . . .

http://vil.mcafee.com/dispVirus.asp?virus_k=98893&

- Jeff Marler

http://www.JeffMarler.com

(please note, that the page is under construction)

 

[Zelandakh]

I think the rule of thumb (particularly for people who have been members for a while) is to check with a reputable AV company before panicking.

Hoaxes are designed to promote panic - and they still seem to work!

 

[tusconpapa]

Zel, Van Els,When our Security people come around and make mods to each PC in the office for a specific named virus I tend to believe its not a hoax. Their contacts are hours even days ahead of the usual sources. BUT the bottom line is how do I e-mail you when your hard-drive has been totally erased.

 

[2ffat]

Security people are in the business of taking everything seriously, even hoaxes. James P. Cottingham

http://www.ivcusa.com

 

[svanels]

Well do not take it like a personnel attack, but every week somebody warns me about a terrible virus. The first thing I do is checking if there is some report on the virus, and only

http://www.mcafe.com,

http://www.microsoft.com

and

http://www.cnn.com

like a reference is not enough. These sites heave (millions?) of webpages. This message got all the traditional elements of a hoax.

I also have my sources which warns me about real virus.

Regards S. van Els
SAvanEls@cq-link.sr

 

[Zelandakh]

Papa,

I did not mean to sound irritated or downbeat about your post - you could well have saved our asses with your post had it been real. I always check symantec hoaxes and viruses list when I get to hear about a new one.

It is one of the reasons this forum was created so that we can alert each other to potential threats.

Zel

 

[edfair]

And there are links in the FAQ that will take you to lots of places where you can check. Ed Fair
efair@atlnet.com

Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.

Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[BradH]

Any virus alert that includes "According to news broadcast by CNN (

http://www.cnn.com/)."

or "This alert was received by an employee of Microsoft itself." is almost surely a hoax. These lines are used often in virus hoaxes.

5 years from now this hoax will still be circulating.

 

[Alt255]

That's a fair clue. Also, warnings that a virus will destroy "Sector Zero" are likely to come from a bogus source. Hard drives don't have a "Sector Zero". The first sector on a drive is sector 1.

But Tusconpapa did the right thing. He alerted us of a potential danger and let us perform our own risk assessments.

Alt255@Vorpalcom.Intranets.com
​

 

[tusconpapa]

Thanks Alt