******* BREAKING NEWS ********> Announced by CNN
>
> PLEASE READ THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> WORST EVER VIRUS (CNN announced)
>
> PLEASE SEND THIS TO EVERYONE ON YOUR CONTACT LIST !!
>
> A new virus has just been discovered that has been
> classified by
> Microsoft 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. Yesterday in just a
> few
> hours this virus caused panic in New York, according to
> news broadcast
> by CNN. 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
> this
> mail to all of 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 !!

Can someone say.......

Virus hoax?

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

It is so not real that it's ridiculous.... The over-hyped tone of the thing was an immediate dead giveaway.

Yesterday in just a few hours this virus caused panic in New York, according to news broadcast by CNN. Yeah, you wouldn't have believed it! I was walking down Sixth Avenue yesterday, and there were computer virus riots going on in the streets! And as bad as I thought it was there, after I managed (barely escaping with my life) to get downtown it was even worse. And in the Financial District, a couple of office buildings were in flames! Most likely the Stock Exchange is going to be closed tomorrow; this is a panic unlike any seen in New York in a long time!

:rolleyes:


Logic test:
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 [...]How does the virus propogate, sending itself to all contacts on your list, if it "destroys your hard drive" as soon as you open it?

What do people get out of this. Its just annoying. I mean what are people thinking? They going to go into work and say, yep today my chain letter reached 2 million people today? I mean depending on where he was, he will most likely just get a beating for annoying everyone with the letter.

It all started as a hoax from some AOL'ers years ago. Once was fine as a prank so long ago, but this thing has been re-hased over the net for so many years now. I personally believe that after that original hoax, that it panicked so many ignorant and excuse me, but stupid people (I mean, how obvious can it be, just the way it's worded that it's a hoax), that other people took it up from there, chaning the "subject", adding a few things here and there, not really changing much -- so they can send it off to everyone they know and try and look important or whatever. That's my theory of why people still send this crap out -- and of course most new net-users buy into it, send it off and so on.

It's just like SPAM -- if people just were more attentive and thought about what they read, they'd see how ridiculous it is and not send things off down the line, or especially buy anything or go to the web sites. After all, if no one responds or believes this crap, there's no reason to send it out, and where would it continue to go? Nowhere. The same holds true of SPAM, if people smarten up just a _little_ and don't visit their site's or buy their stuff, then SPAMMER's would have NO reason to waste time SPAMMING and count on the small percentage of people to buy into it. As long as there's ignorant or stupid people (two different things, mind you), there's always going to be SPAM and virus hoaxes.

Originally posted by davidb
What do people get out of this. Its just annoying. I mean what are people thinking? They going to go into work and say, yep today my chain letter reached 2 million people today?

Yep, that actually probably pretty close to the truth. You might want to add in a few snickers and giggles as well. There's some pretty sad people around, and should probably just shut off their computers and visit a park or something instead.

Greg Moore

Actually, hoax email is why I am on the "Most Insensitive Male" list in my hometown.

2 or 3 years ago, a family member sent me the one about the little girl with cancer for whom the American Cancer Society (or whatever) is going to give 3 cents per copy of the email sent out. She asked me a couple days later how many people I had sent it to, knowing I lived on the 'net and have a fairly large address book. She was appalled that I had not yet sent it out - that girl could die any day and was suffering and how could I be so insensitive....

I really tried hard to explain that even if the ACS wanted to sponsor such a fundraiser, knowing how many copies of the email have been sent out is just not possible. I even tried to get her to go to the website of the agency that supposedly sent it, because the agency in question actually had an article posted explaining that the email was a hoax. It even asked people to please not forward it.

I almost forwarded the email just to make this person happy. But, I just couldn't do it. So, she spread word about how insensitive I am. I still run into people who ask me why I wasn't willing to take 2 minutes out of my day to help a suffering child.

Ok, here's a REALLY bad virus warning I got...

It's true... honest!!!


If you receive an email entitled "Badtimes," delete it immediately.
Do not whatever you do, open it. Apparently this one is pretty nasty. It will not only erase everything on your hard drive, but it will also delete anything on disks within 20 feet of your computer.
It demagnetizes the stripes on ALL of your credit cards.
It reprograms your ATM access code, screws up the tracking on your VCR and uses subspace field harmonics to scratch any CD's you attempt to play.
It will re-calibrate your refrigerator's coolness settings so all your ice cream melts and your milk curdles.
It will program your phone auto dial to call only 1-900 sex line numbers.
This virus will mix antifreeze into your fish tank.
It will drink all your beer.
It will leave dirty socks on the coffee table when you are expecting company.
It will replace your shampoo with Nair and your Nair with Rogaine,
all while dating your current boy/girlfriend behind your back and billing their hotel rendezvous to your Visa card.
It will cause you to run with scissors and throw things in a way that is only fun until someone loses an eye.
It will rewrite your backup files, changing all your active verbs to
passive tense and incorporating undetectable misspellings which grossly change the interpretations of key sentences.
If the "Badtimes" message is opened in a Windows95/98 environment, it will leave the toilet seat up and leave your hair dryer plugged in dangerously close to a full bathtub.
It will not only remove the forbidden tags from your mattresses and pillows, but it will also refill your skim milk with whole milk.
It will molecularly rearrange your cologne or perfume, causing it to smell like dill pickles.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!


NOT!!! :D :D :D

Sorry had to be done... like you I get these "do something before the world blows up" type emails all the time and as a result I only ever put genuine warnings on my support section.

Hope you enjoyed the above though :)

Yeah, and the sad thing is, there's someone sitting at their system right now, reading that and doesn't care what you say -- they are going out to contract someone to build a bomb shelter as we speak. Which reminds me, the original Hoax all this you see is based off, is from the "goodtimes" virus warning. The names have changed over the years, but I didn't remember what it was called, until you posted that "badtimes" warning. :-)

It will re-calibrate your refrigerator's coolness settings so all your ice cream melts

Now that's just heartless.... :)

Greg Moore

Since non-IT office types are known for /always/ opening every bad email, I guess I had better take some preventative measures and eat all the icecream in my freezer.

'Dude', I like, totally knew it was fake.. like, right after I saw the part about your VCR's tracking stuff... I mean, most VCR's sold these days don't even have the ability to change the tracking.. it's all like automatic and stuff now... man, that's when I _knew_ that alert was like totally fake, and stuff... *l*

Originally posted by Tim_Greer
'Dude', I like, totally knew it was fake.. like, right after I saw the part about your VCR's tracking stuff... I mean, most VCR's sold these days don't even have the ability to change the tracking.. it's all like automatic and stuff now... man, that's when I _knew_ that alert was like totally fake, and stuff... *l* Hmm, darn missed that... thanks valley dude.. surfs up. :D

Well, I started to worry, but then I remembered, I usually watch DVD's anyway... And, it didn't specify DVD's being scratched, only CD's. The bad milk, dirty socks and other stuff, well, let's just say the virus wouldn't change my life too much. *LOL* Okay, okay, that was my pre-marriage life, but still, it's not so bad...

Originally posted by Tim_Greer
Well, I started to worry, but then I remembered, I usually watch DVD's anyway... And, it didn't specify DVD's being scratched, only CD's. The bad milk, dirty socks and other stuff, well, let's just say the virus wouldn't change my life too much. *LOL* Okay, okay, that was my pre-marriage life, but still, it's not so bad...


I was just staring at the screen taking in Tim's plethora of crap - the post, the signature, and now the location.

You're going insane Tim. Very insane. :)

Originally posted by Lawrence



I was just staring at the screen taking in Tim's plethora of crap - the post, the signature, and now the location.

You're going insane Tim. Very insane. :)

Um, :rolleyes:
Are we sane? I say Tim is exthemely normal. :cool:

I dunno guys, it could be real...

"This alert was received by an employee of Microsoft itself. So don't open any mails with subject..."

I'm not sure what further proof you need other than it was received by an employee of Microsoft?

What's funny is that someone sent me that message a couple of months back, and the virus was still discovered yesterday afternoon... :)

It will drink all your beer.


Anything but that :( :beer:

Originally posted by Chicken
I dunno guys, it could be real...

"This alert was received by an employee of Microsoft itself. So don't open any mails with subject..."

I'm not sure what further proof you need other than it was received by an employee of Microsoft?

I guess MS employees get spam too

Originally posted by Lawrence
What's funny is that someone sent me that message a couple of months back, and the virus was still discovered yesterday afternoon... :)

If we received this hoax today, it was still discovered yesterday

:uzi: hoax :bomb: