Post by The Guy on Dec 23, 2008 23:15:07 GMT
Another stupid scare-type hoax. Note that there are plenty of appeals to supposed authority, but nothing solid: no exact URLs; no dates; no contact points. Typical boring hoax fare. Here is the text and commentary on it:
'It has been classified by
Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever.'
As if Microsoft were qualified to make such classifications.
'This virus was discovered by
McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus.'
Would any antivirus company warn about a threat if they didn't have a cure? Not too likely; the marketroids would never hear of it.
Also, note the indefinite time "yesterday": this is an attempt to keep the hoax alive.
'This
virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc,'
Software cannot "destroy" anything -- though it can delete data, of course. Moreover, if "Sector Zero" were overwritten, a good data recovery expert could get back all the data, in most cases.
'where the vital
information is kept.'
The one crumb of truth to try to sell the hoax... it is true that the DOS Boot Record, which lives in logical sector 0, does have important information.
'It is a virus which opens A POSTCARD IMAGE, which 'burns' the
whole hard disc C of your computer. This
virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc,'
The only way to "permanently destroy the hard disk" is to do physical damage to it. Melt it, zap it with a magnet or too much electricity, thwack it with a hammer....
All this is rubbish, of course, since no such malware exists.
I could rest my case now, but let's soldier on:
'If you receive a mail called' POSTCARD,' even though sent to you by a
friend, do not open it! Shut down your computer immediately'.
Instead, it would be a lot more helpful to say:
1.
NEVER ACCEPT UNSOLICITED ATTACHMENTS -- not even from those you know and trust.
2. Get top quality antivirus software, install it, and USE it.
3. Keep said software updated, preferably at least once a week.
4. Avoid crappy emailers that allow active content, like the Microsoft Outlook variants. Otherwise, you WILL get bitten by junk like this.
But since when did we expect hoaxters to be helpful? bah!
'COPY THIS E-MAIL, AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS.'
The killing blow: EVERY time it says this, it is unworthy of the request. Period.
Please do not forward this -- or any other hoax -- to all your friends.
Instead, you should reply to the sender -- and as far back up the email chain as you have energy -- informing the originators that this is a hoax. For this particular hoax, I suggest that you provide a pointer to this URL: pheonix999.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=onlinescams&thread=105
'It has been classified by
Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever.'
As if Microsoft were qualified to make such classifications.
'This virus was discovered by
McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus.'
Would any antivirus company warn about a threat if they didn't have a cure? Not too likely; the marketroids would never hear of it.
Also, note the indefinite time "yesterday": this is an attempt to keep the hoax alive.
'This
virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc,'
Software cannot "destroy" anything -- though it can delete data, of course. Moreover, if "Sector Zero" were overwritten, a good data recovery expert could get back all the data, in most cases.
'where the vital
information is kept.'
The one crumb of truth to try to sell the hoax... it is true that the DOS Boot Record, which lives in logical sector 0, does have important information.
'It is a virus which opens A POSTCARD IMAGE, which 'burns' the
whole hard disc C of your computer. This
virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc,'
The only way to "permanently destroy the hard disk" is to do physical damage to it. Melt it, zap it with a magnet or too much electricity, thwack it with a hammer....
All this is rubbish, of course, since no such malware exists.
I could rest my case now, but let's soldier on:
'If you receive a mail called' POSTCARD,' even though sent to you by a
friend, do not open it! Shut down your computer immediately'.
Instead, it would be a lot more helpful to say:
1.
NEVER ACCEPT UNSOLICITED ATTACHMENTS -- not even from those you know and trust.
2. Get top quality antivirus software, install it, and USE it.
3. Keep said software updated, preferably at least once a week.
4. Avoid crappy emailers that allow active content, like the Microsoft Outlook variants. Otherwise, you WILL get bitten by junk like this.
But since when did we expect hoaxters to be helpful? bah!
'COPY THIS E-MAIL, AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS.'
The killing blow: EVERY time it says this, it is unworthy of the request. Period.
Please do not forward this -- or any other hoax -- to all your friends.
Instead, you should reply to the sender -- and as far back up the email chain as you have energy -- informing the originators that this is a hoax. For this particular hoax, I suggest that you provide a pointer to this URL: pheonix999.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=onlinescams&thread=105