1. Fw: virus warning (READ THE TRUTH!)
Subject: Virus Warnings
Thank you for forwarding me that recent Internet virus warning.
Unfortunately, the warning you sent me is, at best, exaggerated or,
at worst, a bold-faced lie. I have attached an excerpt from an
article on virus warnings I recently saw on the Internet
TOURBUS. This article should tell you EVERYTHING you need to know
about viruses and virus warnings.
By the way, if you do not yet subscribe to TOURBUS, I strongly
recommend that you do. TOURBUS is a free, semi-weekly Internet
newsletter that tells you about the latest Internet sites and helps
you debunk the latest Internet urban legends. I have included
TOURBUS subscription information at the bottom of this message.
Alan
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THE TRUTH ABOUT VIRUSES AND VIRUS WARNINGS
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First, you cannot get a virus from simply opening or reading an email
letter, regardless of the email's subject line. There are hundreds
of messages out there warning you not to open email letters with this
subject line or that. EVERY LAST ONE OF THESE WARNING LETTERS IS AN
OUTRIGHT HOAX! In the thirty year history of the Internet, there
have been a total of ZERO email viruses. ZERO!
Email virus warning letters were written in the hope that you will
embarrass yourself by forwarding these false warning to your friends
and coworkers. Remember, you cannot, under ANY circumstances, get a
virus from simply opening or reading an email letter, regardless of
that letter's subject line. Period.
Second, you cannot get a virus from downloading a file (downloading
just refers to the process of transferring a file from one computer to
another). You can ONLY get a virus by executing (launching, double
clicking, etc.) an infected file. It is possible that an infected
file (for example, a Microsoft Word document that contains a macro
virus) can be attached to an email letter, but opening that email
letter will not cause any damage to your computer. The damage will
only be done if you double-click or open the attached file (or if
your email program auto-executes attachments). So, to expand on what
we said earlier: you CANNOT get a virus from simply opening or
reading an email letter, but you CAN get a virus by executing a file
that is attached to an email letter.
Third, warning people to avoid particular files is SILLY. Your
friends would be better served if you told them to watch out for ALL
files, regardless of the files' names. The fact is that *ANY*
executable file *COULD* contain a virus or Trojan Horse, and the only
way to protect yourself from these is to operate in "full paranoia
mode" and virus-check *EVERY* file. If you operate under the
assumption that *ALL* executable files could contain viruses, you will
soon realize how silly it is to warn people about only one particular
file name.
Finally, "new, very malicious" viruses are created and discovered
every day. I updated my anti-virus definitions a few moments ago. In
the past seven days, the folks at Norton (the makers of my anti-virus
software) have found fifty-two new viruses. Let me repeat that again
in all caps for greater effect: FIFTY-TWO NEW VIRUSES IN THE LAST
SEVEN DAYS! In fact, my anti-virus program now recognizes over 18,000
viruses. If there have been FIFTY-TWO new viruses discovered in the
past week, and if there are 18,000+ viruses that my virus-checking
program recognizes (and who knows how many viruses it does not
recognize), why would ANYONE be interested in learning about only
*ONE* new virus? Instead of saying "beware of buddylst.zip -- it
contains a virus," wouldn't you be doing your friends a better service
by saying, "hey, you probably need to update your virus definitions
often because DOZENS of new viruses are discovered every week?"
So, what are we left with? Pretty much, the message you should send
to your friends is
Watch out for ... well ... EVERY EXECUTABLE FILE ON THE INTERNET!
Every single executable file on the Internet *COULD* contain a
virus or a Trojan Horse. It doesn't really matter what the
file's name is. As long as it is executable, it could contain a
virus or a Trojan Horse. In fact, literally DOZENS of new
viruses and Trojan Horses are discovered every week, and there
are TENS OF THOUSANDS of viruses and Trojan Horses floating
around the Net right now.
How can you protect yourself? Buy a good anti-virus program
(they cost about US$40), install it on your computer, and UPDATE
YOUR VIRUS definitions every week (your anti-virus program's user
manual will tell you how to do this).
Should you warn people to stay away from files named
"buddylst.zip," "aol4free.exe," or "budfrogs.exe?" NO! Why?
The following analogy will help you answer that question. I
assume that you agree that kids shouldn't play with guns. So,
should you send your friends an email letter warning them not to
let their children play with Browning Semi-Auto 22 rifles, and
then send your friends ANOTHER email letter warning them not to
let their children play with Colt M1991A1 sidearms, and the send
your friends ANOTHER letter warning them ... well, you get the
point. Don't you think it would be more helpful if you ignored
specific firearm models and instead made the blanket statement
"don't let your kids play with guns?"
The same is true on the Internet. Warning your friends to beware
of specific files is not as helpful as warning your friends that
"*ALL* executable files could contain a virus or a Trojan Horse,
and you should therefore be on the lookout for, and virus-check,
*EVERY* executable file you see, regardless of the file's name."
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