virus warning emails?

[jonnyjack]

my aunt sent me this today...what do you guys think? to me it kinda looks like a hoax, since they have 3 references but no virus name...i already use Norton Anti-Virus and scan everything i get and just use plain old common sense but sometimes unsuspecting relatives or friends can still send you virus's and they are "trusted" sources...i just removed 2 virus's from my cousin's computer...

<< A new virus has just been discovered that has been classified by Microsoft ( www.microsoft.com ) and by McAfee (www.mcafee.com ) 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 &quot;A Virtual Card for You&quot;. 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 (www.cnn.com ). This alert was received by an employee of Microsoft itself. So don't open any mails with subject &quot;A Virtual Card for You&quot;. As soon as you get the mail, delete it. Please pass on this mail to all your friends. >>

 

[JoLLyRoGer]

???

Hmmm, nope nothing of the sort when doing a search on CNN's site. Click Here to See..

 

[BDawg]

If it exists, it's at the symantec research center.

Linkified!

 

[Batti]

Microsoft doesn't do any virus research. Usually, if they quote that, it's bunk.

A hoax as reported by Trend Micro

 

[Rendus]

<< A new virus has just been discovered that has been classified by Microsoft ( www.microsoft.com ) >>

Microsoft doesn't do viruses.

<< and by McAfee (www.mcafee.com ) as the most destructive ever! >>

<< This virus was discovered yesterday afternoon by McAfee and no vaccine has yet been developed. >>

Vaccine? What's next, immunizing computers?

<< This virus simply destroys Sector Zero from the hard disk, where vital information for its functioning are stored. >>

Sector Zero? Er. It'd be refered to as the Master Boot Record most likely.

<< This virus acts in the following manner: It sends itself automatically to all contacts on your list with the title &quot;A Virtual Card for You&quot;. 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. >>

One, how does it send itself out? As soon as you run it, it locks your system, and &quot;destroys Sector Zero&quot;. It never gets the chance.

Oh, and it's impossible for software to physically damage a sector on your hard drive. And Dell tech support does what this virus supposedly does all the time. We call it a debug, where we use the debug command (debug.exe) to erase the master boot recrod. It's certainly not harmful to the hard drive. We usually do it when there's MBR corruption, or if we suspect a virus.

<< Yesterday in just a few hours this virus caused panic in New York, according to news broadcast by CNN (www.cnn.com ). >>

If this were true, I would have heard about it. Why? I do tech support for a living.

<< This alert was received by an employee of Microsoft itself. >>

Yeah, and? Received and acknowledged are two entirely different things. And an employee could be anything from Janitor to Bill Gates.

<< So don't open any mails with subject &quot;A Virtual Card for You&quot;. As soon as you get the mail, delete it. Please pass on this mail to all your friends. >>

The e-mail is the virus. It's just like a chain letter.

In other words, uh.. No.