There are hundreds of these SPAM eMails going around the net warning you about new viruses. Please feel free to check them with your Technical Support Person.. However know in advance that they are mostly ALL hoaxes. If a virus is more then a couple days old your virus scanner will block it. Most new viruses are just forks (based on) of other already made viruses. Your scanner WILL block those. Every now and then a new virus will come out that is a Worm Virus. If you were to become infected by a worm it would eMail its self to everyone in your contact list. It would likely attach its self to your the eMail as a file attachment that you MUST run to become infected. And it WILL be on the news everywhere. And you will likely receive the virus in the mail before you receive the warning in the eMail from your Tech and Friends. The last big virus like this was released on about May 4, 2000, called the “I Love You Virus”. It is the policy of Desktop Masters to Phone our Service Contract clients the moment we learn of a virus threat of this nature.
Signs that a virus warning is a hoax….- Almost all of them tell you to forward it to all your friends. (A request to spread the warning further )
- Claims you get it from reading email (Not opening an attachment)
- Reference to the FCC or other place that has nothing to do with viruses.
- Spelling and grammar mistakes.
- Forwarded from somewhere else.
- Multiple exclamation marks.
- Claims that it is undetectable or that there is no cure.
We recommend that you send this link back to the people that received your spam warning to prevent them from sending it out to further people or sending it again. The best rule of thumb is to assume your virus warning is spam before you assume it is a real warning. UNLESS it comes directly from your Technical Support Person. A good place to check if your warning is real is to search the website http://snopes.com.
Posted in: Frequently Asked Questions