Virus hoax
Encyclopedia
A computer virus hoax is a message warning the recipient of a non-existent computer virus
threat
. The message is usually a chain e-mail that tells the recipient to forward it to everyone they know.
, IBM
or McAfee
together with news media such as CNN
. These bogus sources are quoted in order to give the hoax more credibility. Typically, the warnings use emotive language, stress the urgent nature of the threat and encourage readers to forward the message to other people as soon as possible.
Virus hoaxes are usually harmless and accomplish nothing more than annoying people who identify it as a hoax and waste the time of people who forward the message. Nevertheless, a number of hoaxes have warned users that vital system files are viruses and encourage the user to delete the file, possibly damaging the system. Examples of this type include the jdbgmgr.exe virus hoax
and the SULFNBK.EXE
hoax.
Some consider virus hoaxes and other chain e-mails to be a computer worm
in and of themselves. They replicate by social engineering
—exploiting users' concern, ignorance, and disinclination to investigate before acting.
Hoaxes are distinct from computer pranks, which are harmless programs that perform unwanted and annoying actions on a computer, such as randomly moving the mouse, turning the screen display upside down, etc.
McAfee says:
F-Secure
recommends:
of novice computer users convinced to delete files on the basis of hoaxes has been parodied in several popular jokes and songs.
One such parody is "Weird Al" Yankovic
's song "Virus Alert" from the album Straight Outta Lynwood
. The song makes fun of the exaggerated claims that are made in virus hoaxes, such as legally changing your name.
Another parody of virus hoaxes is the honor system virus which has been circulated under the name Amish
Computer Virus, manual virus, the Blond Computer Virus, the Irish
Computer Virus, the Syria
n Computer Virus, the Norwegian
Computer Virus, Newfie
Virus, the Unix
Computer Virus, the Mac OS 9
virus, Discount virus and many others. This joke email claims to be authored by the Amish
or other similar low-technology population who have no computers, programming skills or electricity to create viruses and thus ask you to delete your own hard drive contents manually after forwarding the message to your friends.
The Tuxissa virus is another parody of the virus hoax, based on the concept of the Melissa virus, but with its aim of installing Linux on the victim's computer without the owner's permission. The story says that it was spread via e-mail, contained in a message titled "Important Message About Windows
Security". It was supposed to first spread the virus to other computers, then download a stripped-down version of Slackware
and uncompress it onto the hard disk. The Windows Registry is finally deleted and the boot options changed. Then the virus removes itself when it reboots the computer at the end, with the user facing the Linux login prompt and all his Windows security problems solved for him.
Computer virus
A computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability...
threat
Threat (computer)
In Computer security a threat is a possible danger that might exploit a vulnerability to breach security and thus cause possible harm.A threat can be either "intentional" or "accidental" In Computer security a threat is a possible danger that might exploit a vulnerability to breach security and...
. The message is usually a chain e-mail that tells the recipient to forward it to everyone they know.
Identification
Most hoaxes are sensational in nature and easily identified by the fact that they indicate that the virus will do nearly impossible things, like blow up the recipient's computer and set it on fire, or less sensationally, delete everything on the user's computer. They often include fake announcements claimed to originate from reputable organizations such as MicrosoftMicrosoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
or McAfee
McAfee
McAfee, Inc. is a computer security company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. It markets software and services to home users, businesses and the public sector. On August 19, 2010, electronics company Intel agreed to purchase McAfee for $7.68 billion...
together with news media such as CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
. These bogus sources are quoted in order to give the hoax more credibility. Typically, the warnings use emotive language, stress the urgent nature of the threat and encourage readers to forward the message to other people as soon as possible.
Virus hoaxes are usually harmless and accomplish nothing more than annoying people who identify it as a hoax and waste the time of people who forward the message. Nevertheless, a number of hoaxes have warned users that vital system files are viruses and encourage the user to delete the file, possibly damaging the system. Examples of this type include the jdbgmgr.exe virus hoax
Jdbgmgr.exe virus hoax
The jdbgmgr.exe virus hoax involved an e-mail spam in 2002 that advised computer users to delete a file named jdbgmgr.exe because it was a computer virus...
and the SULFNBK.EXE
SULFNBK.EXE
SULFNBK.EXE is an internal component of the Microsoft Windows operating system for restoring long file names....
hoax.
Some consider virus hoaxes and other chain e-mails to be a computer worm
Computer worm
A computer worm is a self-replicating malware computer program, which uses a computer network to send copies of itself to other nodes and it may do so without any user intervention. This is due to security shortcomings on the target computer. Unlike a computer virus, it does not need to attach...
in and of themselves. They replicate by social engineering
Social engineering (security)
Social engineering is commonly understood to mean the art of manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information...
—exploiting users' concern, ignorance, and disinclination to investigate before acting.
Hoaxes are distinct from computer pranks, which are harmless programs that perform unwanted and annoying actions on a computer, such as randomly moving the mouse, turning the screen display upside down, etc.
Action
Anti-virus specialists agree that recipients should delete virus hoaxes when they receive them, instead of forwarding them.McAfee says:
F-Secure
F-Secure
F-Secure Corporation is an anti-virus and computer security software company based in Helsinki, Finland. The company has 18 country offices and a presence in more than 100 countries, with Security Lab operations in Helsinki, Finland and in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
recommends:
List of computer virus hoaxes
| Name | Alias(es) | Origin | Author | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antichrist Antichrist (virus hoax) "Antichrist", or Anticristo, was a Spanish-language computer virus hoax distributed via email in 2001.-Email contents:The email was detected by Symantec on July 17, 2001... |
(none) | Monmouth(uk) | Dylan Nicholas | This is a hoax that warned about a supposed virus discovered by Microsoft and McAfee named "Antichrist", telling the user that it is installed via an e-mail with the subject line: "SURPRISE?!!!!!!!!!!" after which it destroys the zeroth Zeroth Zero-based numbering is numbering in which the initial element of a sequence is assigned the index 0, rather than the index 1 as is typical in everyday circumstances. Under zero-based numbering, the initial element is sometimes termed the zeroth element, rather than the first element; zeroth is a... sector of the hard disk, rendering it unusable. |
| Budweiser Frogs Budweiser Frogs The Budweiser Frogs are three life-like puppet frogs named "Bud", "Weis", and "Er", who began appearing in American television commercials for Budweiser beer during Super Bowl XXIX in 1995. They are part of one of the most well-known international alcohol advertising campaigns. They were created... |
BUDSAVER.EXE | Unknown | Unknown | Supposedly would erase the user's hard drive and steal the user's screen name and password. |
| Goodtimes virus Goodtimes virus The Goodtimes Virus was a computer virus hoax that spread during the early years of the Internet's popularity. Warnings about a computer virus named "Good Times" began being passed around among Internet users in 1994... |
(none) | Unknown | Unknown | Warnings about a computer virus named "Good Times" began being passed around among Internet users in 1994. The Goodtimes virus was supposedly transmitted via an email bearing the subject header "Good Times" or "Goodtimes," hence the virus's name, and the warning recommended deleting any such email unread. The virus described in the warnings did not exist, but the warnings themselves, were, in effect, virus-like. |
| Invitation Olympic Torch (virus hoax) Olympic Torch is a computer virus hoax sent out by e-mail. The hoax e-mails first appeared in February 2006. The "virus" referred to by the e-mail does not actually exist. The only effect is that the warning email itself is widely circulated as a chain letter... attachment (computer virus hoax) |
(Allright now/I'm just sayin) | Michiana Shores, Long Beach, Jamestown Manor, Michigan City (IN), Schaumburg (IL) | Jim Flanagan | The invitation virus hoax involved an e-mail spam in 2006 that advised computer users to delete an email, with any type of attachment that stated "invitation" because it was a computer virus. This is also known as the Olympic Torch Olympic Torch (virus hoax) Olympic Torch is a computer virus hoax sent out by e-mail. The hoax e-mails first appeared in February 2006. The "virus" referred to by the e-mail does not actually exist. The only effect is that the warning email itself is widely circulated as a chain letter... virus hoax (see below). |
| Jdbgmgr.exe | (bear.a) | Unknown | Unknown | The jdbgmgr.exe virus hoax involved an e-mail spam in 2002 that advised computer users to delete a file named jdbgmgr.exe because it was a computer virus. jdbgmgr.exe, which had a little teddy bear-like icon (The Microsoft Bear), was actually a valid Microsoft Windows file, the Debugger Registrar for Java (also known as Java Debug Manager, hence jdbgmgr). |
| Life is beautiful Life is beautiful virus hoax The Life is beautiful virus hoax is an e-mail hoax which began circulating on the Internet around January 2002 in Brazil. The e-mail details a virus contained in a Microsoft PowerPoint attachment which is supposedly called Life is beautiful.pps... |
Life is wonderful | Unknown | Supposedly, a hacker with the alias "Life owner" or "Dono da vida" | The hoax was spread through the Internet around January 2001 in Brazil. It told of a virus attached to an e-mail, which was spread around the Internet. The attached file was supposedly called "Life is beautiful.pps" or "La vita è bella.pps". |
| NVISION DESIGN, INC. games ("Frogapult," "Elfbowl Elf Bowling Elf Bowling is a computer game developed by NStorm and released in 1999. In the game the player, as Santa Claus, attempts to knock down elves who are arranged like bowling pins.-Overview:... ") |
Sometimes included their other game "Y2KGame" | Unknown | Unknown | Programs were actual, legitimate computer games; author claimed that they were viruses which would "wipe out" the user's hard drive on Christmas Day. |
| Olympic Torch Olympic Torch (virus hoax) Olympic Torch is a computer virus hoax sent out by e-mail. The hoax e-mails first appeared in February 2006. The "virus" referred to by the e-mail does not actually exist. The only effect is that the warning email itself is widely circulated as a chain letter... |
Postcard or Postcard from Hallmark | Unknown | Unknown | Olympic Torch is a computer virus hoax sent out by e-mail. The hoax e-mails first appeared in February 2006. The "virus" referred to by the e-mail does not actually exist. The hoax e-mail warns recipients of a recent outbreak of "Olympic Torch" viruses, contained in e-mails titled "Invitation", which erase the hard disk of the user's computer when opened. The hoax email further purports the virus to be acknowledged by such reputable sources as CNN, McAfee and Microsoft as one of the most dangerous viruses yet reported. Of course this email, which was started in February 2006, is safe to delete when you want. |
| SULFNBK.EXE SULFNBK.EXE SULFNBK.EXE is an internal component of the Microsoft Windows operating system for restoring long file names.... Warning |
none | Unknown | Unknown | SULFNBK.EXE (short for Setup Utility for Long File Name Backup) is an internal component of the Microsoft Windows operating system (in Windows 98 and Windows Me) for restoring long file names. The component became famous in the early 2000s as the subject of an e-mail hoax. The hoax claimed that SULFNBK.EXE was a virus, and contained instructions to locate and delete the file. While the instructions worked, they were needless and (in some rare cases, for example, when the long file names are damaged and need to be restored) can cause disruptions, as SULFNBK.EXE is not a virus, but instead an operating system component. |
Parodies
The virus hoax has become part of the culture of the twenty-first century and the gullibilityGullibility
Gullibility is a failure of social intelligence in which a person is easily tricked or manipulated into an ill-advised course of action. It is closely related to credulity, which is the tendency to believe unlikely propositions that are unsupported by evidence....
of novice computer users convinced to delete files on the basis of hoaxes has been parodied in several popular jokes and songs.
One such parody is "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
's song "Virus Alert" from the album Straight Outta Lynwood
Straight Outta Lynwood
Straight Outta Lynwood is the 12th studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released on September 26, 2006 in the U.S. by Volcano, on September 30, 2006 in Australia, on October 3 in Canada, on October 6, 2006 in New Zealand, November 13, 2006 in the United Kingdom, and November 24, 2006 in...
. The song makes fun of the exaggerated claims that are made in virus hoaxes, such as legally changing your name.
Another parody of virus hoaxes is the honor system virus which has been circulated under the name Amish
Amish
The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...
Computer Virus, manual virus, the Blond Computer Virus, the Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
Computer Virus, the Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n Computer Virus, the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
Computer Virus, Newfie
Newfie
Newfie is a colloquial term used in Canada for someone who is from Newfoundland. It appears in a 1942 dictionary of slang; at the time, 'Newfie' was used as often to refer to Newfoundland itself as to people from Newfoundland .The term 'Newfie' has been applied to the Newfoundland people, the...
Virus, the Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
Computer Virus, the Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as...
virus, Discount virus and many others. This joke email claims to be authored by the Amish
Amish
The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...
or other similar low-technology population who have no computers, programming skills or electricity to create viruses and thus ask you to delete your own hard drive contents manually after forwarding the message to your friends.
The Tuxissa virus is another parody of the virus hoax, based on the concept of the Melissa virus, but with its aim of installing Linux on the victim's computer without the owner's permission. The story says that it was spread via e-mail, contained in a message titled "Important Message About Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
Security". It was supposed to first spread the virus to other computers, then download a stripped-down version of Slackware
Slackware
Slackware is a free and open source Linux-based operating system. It was one of the earliest operating systems to be built on top of the Linux kernel and is the oldest currently being maintained. Slackware was created by Patrick Volkerding of Slackware Linux, Inc. in 1993...
and uncompress it onto the hard disk. The Windows Registry is finally deleted and the boot options changed. Then the virus removes itself when it reboots the computer at the end, with the user facing the Linux login prompt and all his Windows security problems solved for him.
See also
- MalwareMalwareMalware, short for malicious software, consists of programming that is designed to disrupt or deny operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy or exploitation, or gain unauthorized access to system resources, or that otherwise exhibits abusive behavior...
- List of computer viruses
- List of trojan horses
- Timeline of notable computer viruses and wormsTimeline of notable computer viruses and wormsThis is a timeline of noteworthy computer viruses, worms and Trojan horses.- 1966 :* The work of John von Neumann on the "Theory of self-reproducing automata" is published...
External links
- Hoaxkill website dedicated to hoax busting
- McAfee virus hoaxes
- Symantec Threat Explorer
- Trend Micro Virus Encyclopedia
- Sector Zero/Virtual Card for You Email