I want to touch on the serious side
of dangerous emails, and I am not talking about virus carriers.
Novice computer users will unknowingly be
pulled into distributing these, all in the name of fun and protection.
These are emails from your contacts
(people you know), that you may even regard as experienced, that contain
warnings about viruses.
They have forwarded to you a copy of an
email that they have recently received, and in it will describe an incident
where something caused damage to someone's computer. This may even take the
shape of an official looking email that contains "quotes" from
Microsoft or an anti-virus company.
Usually it ends by telling you that it is
vitally important to spread the word right now, and to email this letter to
everyone in your address book.
STOP RIGHT THERE!
Chances are this claim has never been
verified or checked out by the good-doers who pass these emails on, and I can
safely say in all cases they are false claims. They are designed to spread
panic and produce multiple copies that are really junk mail
(spam), and you end up sending it to your friends.
At the low side of annoyance, you will get
Chain letters that say if you forward this to ten people in the next ten minutes
your wish will come true, or the ones that say you could earn/win money by
doing this. But on the Highest side of terrorism and deliberate sabotage,
the email may instruct you to search your computer of a certain file, and if
found, delete it as it is a virus.
There was one about a file that has a
teddy bear as a symbol, and the claim was, if you have it - get rid of it
and pass this warning on. Well that file was a part of Windows and so your
computer was born with it, meaning everyone has it anyway. Delete it and
something is not going to work tomorrow! With so warning emails their
computer never started again!!!
What to do?
Delete all chain letters, why send on junk
mail?
If it's a warning, check it out first.
Even if the email has a link inside it to
"supposedly" take you to an official website to verify it's claim.
There are emails being sent out today by
hackers who design them to look like Official emails from your Bank, complete
with logos. These ask you to click on the provided link so you can "update
your details including passwords". The site will be a bogus clone created
to collect passwords for illegal usage. As a little aside, this activity is
called Phishing scams.(fishing
alright)
Do not forward warnings unless you
have checked it out first, if you can't be bothered - fine, don't send it on.
To check it out, go to google and
search using a key phrase from the email. There are many sites devoted to
exposing hoaxes.
If you want to check out the teddy bear
hoax, go to google and type into the search window JDBGMGR.EXE VIRUS . That is
the file name of the file with the teddy bear icon that everybody has. Search
google with the above words and you will see nothing but hoax warnings!
So now you will really enjoy emailing -
huh?
Don't let this phenomena burst your little
enthusiastic bubble, email is a wonderful tool, but like the car - can also be
used by thoughtless juvenile layabouts and bank robbers.
Bryan Fletcher
©GUS March 2005.