The Irina "Virus" Is A Hoax

Last significant update: 14 November 1996

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

Here is the initial report we received about the "Irina virus", a very ill-advised publicity stunt by an employee of Penguin Books, U.K.; the author of the report, Mr. Graham Cluley of Dr. Solomon's Software Ltd., is an extremely reputable source:

> Subject:      Irina hoax
> From:         sandspm@cix.compulink.co.uk ("Graham Cluley")
> Date:         1996/09/23
> Message-Id:   
> Organization: S&S International plc -> Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit
> Newsgroups:   alt.comp.virus

> While at the Virus Bulletin conference at the end of last week I received
> a number of phone calls from journalists regarding a "deadly, new virus"
> called Irina.

> The payload described by the journalists closely resembled "Good Times":
> it claimed that you could be infected just by receiving an email message,
> and that any infected computer would severely damage the PC's CPU.

> Of course this is nonsense, and I told the journalists that it was a hoax.

> Anyway, it turns out that the true story has now been revealed.  The
> entire hoax was orchestrated by Penguin Books as a publicity stunt for a
> new interactive book called "Irina".

> According to the Daily Telegraph, Guy Gadney (the former head of
> electronic publishing at Penguin) sent our a bogus letter to newspapers
> and television stations giving a warning about the "Irina" virus. The
> message claimed to be from Professor Edward Pridedaux of the College of
> Slavonic Studies in London.

> Prideaux is one of the main characters in the Irina book Penguin is
> planning to launch. Some newspapers received six copies of the bogus
> letter, all signed by Prof Prideaux, but making no mention of Penguin
> Books, a publicity campaign or that the warning was a PR stunt.

> The hoax was eventually traced back to Penguin via the envelopes used.
> The College of Slavonic Studies does not exist.  But London's School of
> Slavonic and East European Studies said it had been inundated with calls
> to the fictitious Prof Prideaux.

> Regards
> Graham
> ---
> Graham Cluley                                 CompuServe: GO DRSOLOMON
> Senior Technology Consultant,     UK Support: support@uk.drsolomon.com
> Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit.  US Support: support@us.drsolomon.com
> Email: gcluley@uk.drsolomon.com             UK Tel: +44 (0)1296 318700
> Web: http://www.drsolomon.com                 USA Tel: +1 617-273-7400
>   Evaluate Dr Solomon's FindVirus 7.63! Download it from our webpage

What follows is a typical email "Irina" alert which, of course, is complete nonsense. One should note that merely reading an email message *cannot* cause damage or spread a virus, although one certainly can receive an infected file as an attachment and la ter execute that attachment (if it is a program or application) or load a document infected with a Word Macro virus into Word, and spread a virus that way. But reading a text message with an email program -- as long as that email program is not foolishly configured to launch attachments automatically -- can't cause a virus to attack.

--- Begin typical Irina Hoax message ---------------------------

>Subject: Virus Alert!
>
>Ladies and Gentlemen,
>
>FYI
>There is a computer virus that is being sent across the Internet.
>If you receive an e-mail message with the subject line "Irina", DONOT
>read the message. DELETE it immediately.
>Some miscreant is sending people files under the title "Irina". If
>you receive this mail or file, do not download it. It has a virus
>that rewrites your hard drive, obliterating anything on it. Please be
>careful and forward this mail to anyone you care about.
>
>( Information received from the Professor Edward Prideaux, College of
>Slavonic Studies, London ).

--- End of typical Irina Hoax message ---------------------------

   -BPB

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