A.I.D.S. Email Virus" Hoax - U-M Virus Busters

The The A.I.D.S. "Virus" Email Warning Is A Hoax

by Bruce P. Burrell (bpb@umich.edu)
for the U-M Virus Busters (virus.busters@umich.edu)

Last significant update: 29 October, 1998

This information can be freely reproduced in any medium, as long as the information is unmodified.

Thanks to Bill Conwell for first bringing this to our attention on 3 December, 1997.

More of the usual silliness; this has been around for almost a year now, but at U-M we've been lucky enough -- until recently -- to be spared seeing it. Since this hoax has now reared its pathetic head here, we're debunking it. Here is the text of the hoax, with imbedded comments:


This is VERY SERIOUS!! Please forward it to everyone you know..they will
be grateful :o).......

NOT.


There is a virus out now being sent to people via email...it is called the
A.I.D.S. VIRUS. It will destroy your memory, sound card and speakers, hard
drive and it will infect your mouse or pointing device..

Software cannot damage (well-designed) hardware, period.

 
as well as your keyboards making what you type not able to register on
the screen. It self terminates only after it eats 5MB of hard drive space &
will delete all programs. It will come via E-mail called "OPEN: VERY COOL!
:)".

Unless you configure your email program to launch attachments automatically, merely opening a message can't hurt you.

Delete it immediately!!

This is good advice, because:

Then you couldn't forward it, as suggested below, and
It's prudent NEVER to accept unsolicited email attachments, and to be very cautious even with those you -do- solicit. Even friends might send you an infected Word document by accident, for instance.


It will basically render your computer useless.
PASS IT ON QUICKLY & TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE!! THANKS!!

No, it won't, and no, please don't, and yes, thanks for not doing so.

Please do not forward this -- or any other hoax -- to all your friends.

Instead, you should reply to the sender -- and as far back up the email chain as you have energy -- informing the originators that this is a hoax. For this particular hoax, I suggest that you provide a pointer to this URL (http://www.umich.edu/~virus-busters/hoaxes/aids.html)
For virus or hoax info, please see our main page (http://www.umich.edu/~virus-busters/) or go to another reputable site, like DataFellows (leaving our site).

-BPB

Last updated: Wednesday, 02-Jan-2002 14:49:35 EST.
University of Michigan Virus Busters - virus.busters@umich.edu

visits to this page since 29 October, 1998 11:18 EST