Hoaxes

Would you believe a message from a friend warning you about a new disease that was making lots of people sick? Probably not, unless your friend is a physician doing research on new diseases, or they direct you to a trustworthy source for information about the disease. The same is true for emails and stories on the Internet: they are not the best sources of information. Take a look at the box on this page. It's a freshly minted list of the most popular hoaxes on the Internet today.

Virus warning messages

A virus hoax is an email designed to trick you into thinking you have a virus. Many do so by giving the name of a legitimate file on your system, thereby gaining an aura of authenticity since you do find the file, and encouraging you to delete it, thus getting you to do the damage yourself! Some "hoaxes" are started by someone so they can see their message go 'round the world and possibly come back to them (like a chain letter). Forwarding hoax messages can cause a serious strain on a company's email system.

The hoax warning is forwarded by well-meaning people and often contains the following suspicious phrases:

"Send this warning to all your friends"
"No anti-virus program can detect it"
Technical sounding language that may not make sense

Protection against viruses

For information on how virus protection is handled on Nebula computers, please see the Nebula Email Virus Scanning page.

Never accept unsolicited attachments, not even from those you know and trust; if in doubt, contact the sender via email or phone, to find out if they intended to send an attachment and what it contains.
Avoid dubious web sites which might infect or damage your computer. You can configure your browser to disable 'active content' (Java, JavaScript, ActiveX, etc) for unfamiliar web sites. Let others try new web sites first.
If you get an email warning about a virus, do not forward it! Send it to the Nebula Support staff at nebula-support@cac.washington.edu for their review.

How do I know if a virus warning is legitimate?

Check the links given above, email the Nebula support team at the address given below, or check with a reputable anti-virus authority such as the McAfee web site, to determine if the risk warned against is a known virus, worm, or other 'mal-ware', or if it is a hoax. It may take a day or two after the first appearance of a new virus for information about it to appear.

You are not doing your friends a favor when you spread rumors. Be sure of the facts before forwarding a virus warning, and refer to an authoritative anti-virus web site to substantiate your warning.

For information on protecting your home computers, please see the Home PC page.