Virus Hoaxes
May 22, 2008 by Admin
Filed under Uncategorized
“Warning!,” the email screams. “There’s a new virus going around, and Microsoft says it’s the worst one yet!” After this amazing bit of hype, the email continues with “Once this virus infects your system, it will delete all the files on your hard drive, reset your computer clock, and make your screen only show green and black!”
Anyone who has made it this far is then asked to “forward this virus warning to everyone you know!” and “Delete any emails you get with the title “Have a nice day!’ This email has all the signs of a virus hoax.
First, viruses are not magical or all-powerful. Yes, they can damage your data. Viruses have been known to erase hard drives, delete documents, even forward classified documents to random email addresses. But, to date, only one virus (CIH, or Chernobyl) has actually been able to damage hardware. CIH found a way to overwrite the BIOS, or read-only memory.
