A computer virus can be serious. Many virus alerts however are simply a hoax. A goal of the hoax is to get as many people as possible forward warnings via email to as many people they know, thus cluttering Internet email traffic. Some of these hoaxes go so far as to say the virus will not only wreck your computer but it will get your email address, password, social security number, credit card numbers and the battery in your automobile will go dead and your pet cat will poop on your carpet.
Listed below are a number of Web sites that track virus hoaxes. You may want to check these out if you receive a virus warning before spreading a possible hoax to your friends and colleagues. Remember, virsuses CAN NOT be transmitted in a text-based email message. A virus could be included in an email attachment which you would have to save and then open or run on your pc. It is a good idea to run virus detection software on any attachment you receive, but you need not worry about plain email messages.
Be advised there are real viruses out there that can delete information from your hard disk drive and cause other damage. Listed below is one site (SIMTEL.COM), and there are many others on the Internet, where you can download antivirus/virus detection sofware. These programs reside on your computer and check your files for the most commonly known viruses. Installing one on your pc is a good idea.
Dave Rice, NDSU Ag Webmaster
drice@ndsuext.nodak.edu