The real danger of Hoax
For several years now, the Internet, especially e-mail, has served as a stage for the spread of so-called hoax viruses, ie messages with false alarms about computer viruses that are distributed through the chain mail.
Normally, these channels are increasingly involving a larger number of users, because the message suggests that the recipient forward the information to all email addresses possible, so that should extend the alleged warning of a new virus.
This rapid spread was due mainly to inexperience and naivety of Internet users, as they do not know to distinguish a hoax of a virus, users submit such information as an act of good faith.
Despite that are not really viruses, undoubtedly, such threats are considered harmful because it often involves time and lost productivity of people who receive these alerts. We must also count on the saturation of information they produce on the Net due to the large amount of information they have to process servers. Indeed, some of the most popular hoax carried more than three years distributed user user, despite the efforts and resources deployed by major organizations to disprove.
Common characteristics
Typically, the vast majority of these messages have in common a number of peculiarities within their own texts. For example, always includes phrases or expressions disaster type: "Warning", "There is no cure" or "Destroy all files irretrievably."
Moreover, a large number of these messages tend to cite prestigious companies in the sector, whether hardware or software manufacturers or security companies to give greater credibility to the alleged virus.
Also, many of them claim in its text that the virus does not lie and most calls for forwarding to as many people as possible.
Object of hoax
In the vast majority of cases these rumours emerge from their own computers of Internet users bromistas, which aims to create alarm among users, collecting large amount of email addresses, to incite own receiver to damage your computer or the mere notoriety of the receiver. However, sometimes the rumor tends to coincide with events or situations that occur in everyday life. For example, is often very common distribution of a hoax before the premiere of a film production or any commercial product, although this is only speculation because we are facing a very uncertain world.
Among the most famous hoax in the history of the Internet highlights the "Good Times", which began in 1994 to warn of an executable nonexistent that destroyed the hard drive and your computer's processor. This hoax was created by two waggish who took advantage of the ignorance of users who sent the message to her friends as an act of good faith.
Another of the hoax that have spread across the network is the "Penpal Greetings", so called because it urges the web surfer to forward the message to all his contacts to avoid execute files contained in messages bearing this title.
However, some of these BUL if they can get to cause more serious damage on the computers of users. A clear example was the hoax "Sulfnbk.exe", born in Portuguese and soon translated into several languages, which was the first to get Internet users damaged their own computers without knowing it. This hoax alerting users of the existence of a new virus, called "Sulfnbk.exe", and advised that any computer that had such a file should remove the hard drive. The problem is that sulfnbk.exe is actually a file that exists on all computers with Windows operating system, whose mission is to help recognize shorter versions of long file names, then many people, believing that it was actually a malicious code, the blotted his team.
What to do?
If at some point we received a message with these characteristics, we must realize that the person who has sent surely ignores its falsehood, so it is important to immediately inform you of this situation.
If you do not know the authenticity of the message, it is more advisable to try to find out through the websites of the different security companies and, if it decides to forward, it is advisable to hide email addresses so that recipients do not receive the other contacts.
In general, almost all security companies have in their web addresses of all information pertaining to this type of Bull. Also, the Centre for Alert Antivirus posted on its website all information about the hoax that appear on the Net.
