new deadly virus out! fact or hoax?

[ccorky100]

Ijust recieved this email from a freind, and it makes grim reading...

"Subject: WORST VIRUS EVER ---CNN ANNOUNCED

PLEASE SEND THIS TO EVERYONE ON YOUR CONTACT LIST !!

A new virus has just been discovered that has been classified by

Microsoft as the most destructive ever! This virus was discovered yesterday afternoon by McAfee and no

vaccine has yet ! been developed. This virus simply destroys Sector Zero from the hard disk, where vital

information for its functioning are stored.

This virus acts in the following manner: It sends itself automatically to all contacts on your list with

the title "A Card for You".

As soon as the supposed virtual card is opened, the computer freezes so that the user has to reboot. When

the ctrl+alt+del keys or the reset button are pressed, the virus destroys Sector Zero, thus permanently

destroying the hard disk. Yesterday in just a few hours this virus caused panic in New York, according

to news broadcast by CNN. This alert was received by an employee of Microsoft itself.

So don't open any mails with subject: "A Virtual Card for You."

As soon as you get the mail, delete it!! Even if you know the sender!!!


Forward this to everyone in your address book. I'm

sure most people, like myself, would rather receive

this 25 times than not at all."

Is this just another hoax...or is it terribly real?

 

[NoSpam]

One of the most common themes of hoaxes or viruses, is that you must send the notice to eveyone on your contact list. That's what keeps the stuff from dying.

NoSpam

 

[Taz69]

If this virus was so destructive even Microsoft could have something on their website by now.

If you are unsure check your own Virus Detector's homepage as well as any reliable sources such as virus research centres. (Microsoft might not be an angel but if it were true and your friend had this info I expect a warning would be posted on Microsoft's site by now.)

One good way to spread a virus would be to post a message like this (infected of course) and ask you to forward this to friends

One of the best ways that a virus could actually spread is if you were infected and forwarded the infection onto your friends by e-mailing the infection.
(New virus can often do this themselves but half the fun of writing a decent virus must be in the panic caused so you never know.)

If all else fails, phone your friend and verify if he sent this e-mail to you.

In plain english. Don't worry about it unless you can verify the information from a reliable source. Remember if McAfee and Microsoft know about this I expect warnings will have been posted somewhere. Check reliable sources before re-sending any warnings such as this...

 

[NoSpam]

I don't think there are any viruses that reside in BIOS. There are some that corrupt CMOS information, and some that try with varying success to corrupt the BIOS (if you have a jumper to write protect your BIOS keep it in the write protect position), but I've never heard of any that can reside in BIOS.

NoSpam

 

[ccorky100]

Thanx to you all. I had reservations about this when i saw it, but wasn't sure wether or not this was possible, as virus characteristics aren't really my strongest point.
I have heard of virus hoaxes being sent via email before though, and i knew that someone on the forum would know more about it than me.
Thanks

 

[VIPER_1069]

this is a long reply but as its multi lingual it is of use to all here apolgys to admin will move / delete after 3 or 4 days if this is problematic

@ ccorky this sound familiar !?

its a definate confirmed HOAX !! ....

Several examples of these are as follows:


English

Example 1
Virus Alert VIRUS WARNING To ALL INTERNET USERS:

A new virus has just been discovered that has been classified by Microsoft (www.microsoft.com) and by McAfee (www.mcafee.com) as the most destructive ever!

This virus was discovered yesterday afternoon by McAfee and no vaccine has yet been developed. This virus simply destroys Sector Zero from the hard disk, where vital information for its functioning are stored.

This virus acts in the following manner: It sends itself automatically to all contacts on your list with the title "A Virtual Card for You".

As soon as the supposed virtual card is opened, the computer freezes so that the user has to reboot. When the ctrl+alt+del keys or the reset button are pressed, the virus destroys Sector Zero, thus permanently destroying the hard disk.

Please distribute this message to the greatest number of people possible. Yesterday in just a few hours this virus caused panic in New York, according to news broadcast by CNN www.cnn.com). This alert was received by an employee of Microsoft itself.

Example 2
PLEASE ADVISE EVERYONE YOU KNOW

Subject: A new virus has just been discovered that has been classified by Microsoft ( www.microsoft.com ) and by McAfee (www.mcafee.com ) as the most destructive ever! This virus was discovered yesterday afternoon by McAfee and no vaccine has yet been developed.

This virus simply destroys Sector Zero from the hard disk, where vital information for its functioning are stored. This virus acts in the following manner: It sends itself automatically to all contacts on your list with the title
"A Virtual Card for You".
As soon as the supposed virtual card is opened, the computer freezes so that the user has to reboot.

When the ctrl+alt+del keys or the reset button are pressed, the virus destroys Sector Zero, thus permanently destroying the hard disk.

Yesterday in just a few hours this virus caused panic in New York, according to news broadcast by CNN (www.cnn.com ).

This alert was received by an employee of Microsoft itself.
So don't open any mails with subject

"A Virtual Card for You".

As soon as you get the mail, delete it.
Please pass on this mail to everyone you know.

Example 3

ATENTION TO THIS WARNING...

It just have been discovered a new virus that was clasified by MICROSOFT and by MCAFEE as the biggest destroyer of all times. This virus was discovered
yesterday afternoon by MCAFFE and a vaccine for this virus is not found yet. It just destroy the 0 track of hard drive where the vital information for
its FUNctionality.

It works as follows:

1- It sends itself by Internet with the subject "A VIRTUAL CARD FOR YOU".
2- Locks the computer, so user must reboot it.
3- At the moment that the keys CTRL-ALT-DEL or RESET are pressed, it destroy the 0 track and the hard drive for ever.

Please distribute this email to as many people as possible, in some hours of yesterday this virus caused panic in NEW YORK as CNN said.

Dutch
WAARSCHUWING !!!

"Er is een nieuw virus ontdekt door Microsoft en Mc Afee. Men zegt dat het een fataal virus is. Het virus is twee dagen geleden in Amerika ontdekt en er is nog geen anti virus. Het virus vernietigt "Sector Zero" van de hard disk, waar vitale info is opgeslagen voor het functioneren van je PC. Het virus verspreidt zich via de contactenlijsten van de ontvangende computers. Het virus draagt de naam: "A Virtual Card for You". Zodra je de zogenaamde kaart geopend
hebt slaat de computer zodanid vast dat je moet resetten. Ctrl + Alt + Del betekent het einde van je harde schijf. Het virus heeft voor paniek gezorgd in New York. Zelfs CNN maakte melding van het virus!
Dus "A Virtual ! card for You" niet openen ! Zodra je de mail krijgt definitief verwijderen ! " Tevens wordt door Intel gewaarschuwd voor het e-mail "An Internet Flower for you".Open het niet ! Dit virus verwijdert alle .dll files van je hard disk. Stuur dit uit het Engels vertaalde bericht zo snel mogelijk op naar al je contacten !(het oorspronkelijk bericht is van Neil Quigley van New Media Computer Corp).

French
Information à diffuser !!! Attention !!!!, un nouveau virus très destructeur arrive, lire la notice ci dessous. Information à diffuser très rapidement pour arrêter ce virus. 1. Un nouveau virus vient d'être découvert et a été classé par Microsoft comme étant le plus destructeur n'ayant jamais existé ! Ce virus a été découvert hier après-midi par McAfee et aucun vaccin n'a encore été développé. Ce virus détruit le Secteur Zéro de votre disque dur, la où les informations vitales au fonctionnement de votre système sont emmagasinées. Ce virus agit de la façon suivante : Il envoie lui-même un message a toute votre liste de contacts avec le titre « Virtual Card for You » ou « Une carte virtuelle pour vous » N'OUVRIR AUCUN LIEN QUI PORTE CETTE MENTION. Aussitôt que la supposée "carte virtuelle" est ouverte, l'ordinateur se bloque et l'utilisateur doit redémarrer son système. Lorsque les touches ctrl+alt+del ou le bouton "reset" Sont enfoncés, le virus détruit le Secteur Zéro, et votre disque dur sera alors détruit de façon permanente. S.V.P. distribuez ce message à plus de gens possible !!

German
BITTE UNBEDINGT LESEN UND WEITERLEITEN!!!

Es wurde gerade ein neues Virus festgestellt, den Microsoft und McAfee als den bisher gefährlichsten Virus überhaupt bezeichnen! Dieses Virus wurde erst am Freitagnachmittag von McAfee festgestellt und wird noch nicht von Virenscannern erkannt. Das Virus zerstört den Null- Sektor der Festplatte, wo wichtige Informationen für die Funktion der Festplatte gespeichert sind. Die Funktionsweise des Virus ist wie folgt: Das Virus versendet sich automatisch an alle Kontaktadressen aus dem Email-Adressbuch und gibt als Betrefftext \"A Virtual Card for You\" an. Sobald die vorgebliche virtuelle Postkarte geöffnet wird, bleibt der Rechner hängen, so dass der/die AnwenderIn einen Neustart vornehmen muss.

Wird nun die Kombination [Strg]+[Alt]+[Del]oder der Reset-Knopf ASid am Rechnergehäuse gedrückt, löscht das Virus den Null-Sektor der Festplatte, womit die Festplatte dauerhaft unbrauchbar ist. Wenn Sie also eine Nachricht mit dem Betreff \"A Virtual Card for You\" erhalten, öffnen Sie diese mail KEINESFALLS, sondern löschen die Nachricht sofort. Am Freitag hat dieses Virus innerhalb weniger Stunden geradezu eine Panik unter EDV-Usern in New York verursacht, wie CNN berichtet. <http://www.cnn.com>

Diese Warnung stammt von einem Microsoft-Mitarbeiter. Bitte leitet die vorliegende Mail an alle Personen in eurem Email-Verzeichnis weiter.

Es ist sicherlich besser diese Nachricht 25 Mal zu erhalten, als gar nicht!

Intel meldet ebenfalls ein neues und sehr gefährliches Virus, das sich mit der Betreffzeile \"An Internet Flower ForYou\" verbreitet. Wenn ihr eine derartige Email erhaltet, öffnet diese nicht, sondern löscht sie sofort.

Dieses Virus löscht alle DLL-Dateien von eurem Rechner, so dass der Rechner danach nicht mehr hochfahren kann. Diese Nachricht kam heute von der Medien- und Eventagentur Suttner aus Deutschland:
Es sind wieder 3 neue enorm gefährliche Viren entdeckt worden, kommen per E-Mail mit den Titeln: PSYCHOSPIEL, SCREENSAVER "BABY FUN" oder Emanuel.exe! Diese Übeltäter sind anscheinend noch gefährlicher als der "I LOVE YOU" Virus, da die komplette Festplatte gelöscht wird. Es existiert noch kein Schutz!
ALSO BITTE! NICHTS ÖFFNEN DAS MIT DIESEN TITELN BEZEICHNET IST!

Es sind noch wenig Leute informiert, daher bitte dieses Mail umgehend weiterleiten! Der Virus ist erst seit 7 Tagen im Umlauf.

Portuguese
Novo Virus - FATAL!!!

NOVO TIPO DE VÍRUS !!!

O PIOR VÍRUS EXISTENTE (CNN anunciou). Cuidar ao ABRIR ANEXOS !!!!
POR FAVOR ENVIE ESTA MENSAGEM PARA TODOS OS CONTATOS DE SUA LISTA!!Um novo vírus foi descoberto e classificado pela Microsoft como o mais destrutivo já existente. Este vírus foi descoberto ontem à tarde pela McAfee e ainda não existe vacina. Este vírus simplesmente destrói a zero os setores do disco rígido, onde as informações vitais para funcionamento estão armazenadas.
Este vírus atua da seguinte forma:
Ele envia automaticamente para todos os contatos de sua lista com o título "A Virtual Card for you" ou "Um Cartão Virtual para você".
E quando supostamente este cartão é aberto o computador congela de modo que o usuário tenha que religar o micro. Quando você pressiona a chave ctrl+alt+del ou pressiona o botão de reset, o vírus destrói o Setor Zero, deste modo destrói permanentemente o disco rígido.
Ontem por poucas horas este vírus causou pânico em Nova York, de acordo com as notícias do programa da CNN. Este alerta foi recebido pelos operadores da Microsoft. Por isso não abram o arquivo "A Virtual Card for you". Caso receba este e-mail, Delete. Por favor passe este e-mail para todos os seus amigos. Envie este para todos de sua lista de endereços. Além disso, a Intel anunciou que um novo e, muito destrutivo vírus foi descoberto recentemente. Se você receber um e- mail chamado "An Internet Flower For You", não abra. Delete assim que receber.
Este vírus remove todos os arquivo .dll (dynamic link libraries) do seu computador. Seu computador não poderá carregar os arquivos acima.
ENVIE ESTE E-MAIL PARA TODOS DE SUA LISTA DE CONTATOS


Spanish
ATENCION A ESTA ADVERTENCIA...

Acaba de ser descubierto un nuevo virus que fue clasificado por MICROSOFT y por la MCAFEE como el mas destructor de todos los tiempos Este virus fue
descubierto ayer por la tarde por MCAFFE todavia no fue descubierta una vacuna para este virus.El simplemente destruye la pista 0 del disco fijo donde quedan guardados las informaciones vitales de su FUNcionamiento.

El actua de la siguiente manera:
1- Se autoenvia por Internet con la denominacion "UNA TARJETA VIRTUAL PARA UD.".
2- Traba el funcionamiento del equipo de tal forma que el usuario deba reiniciarlo.
3- En el momento que son presionadas las teclas CTRL+ATL+SUP o la tecla RESET, el destruye la pista 0 y el disco rigido para siempre.

Por favor distribuyan este e-mail para el mayor numero de personas, en horas de ayer este virus causo panico en NEW YORK de acuerdo con la CNN.

Type: Hoax

Numerous variants in several languages of this hoax have been circulated. The Virtual Card for You is a hoax that should be ignored.


this is a cut and paste from symantecs database worthc checking if u suspect anything .... go here and check ....

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/vinfodb.html/

 

[LTR12101B]

Typical of hoax - attribution of comments to various authorities without any reference material.

A "Deluxe" version, would use a fake WEBSITE, with a slight but possibly unnoticed variation from the correct name - as a gogross example, maybe simontec.com com instead of symantec.com - where the hoax would then be "justified" by suitable bogus reference material in the style of the official site.


Hardware damage?

Don't forget CIH, the "BIOS KILLER", and the rumours that it MIGHT be possible to damage older technolgy hard disks by overseek - and certainlt possible to jam some (lead screw mechanism) floppy drives that way.

 

[NoSpam]

Hardware damage?

Don't forget CIH, the "BIOS KILLER"

That's not hardware damage. Its software. You can reburn a BIOS chip. The hardware is not damaged, only the software code it contains. You may decide to replace the BIOS chip if you don't have access to an EPROM burner, but that still doesn't make it hardware damage. I once had a system lock during a flash BIOS upgrade. I didn't have access to a burner, and returned the BIOS chip to the manufacturer for a replacement. It wasn't damaged, it just needed proper reprograming (they reused returned BIOS chips, and would have charged me for it if I didn't return the old BIOS chip).

and the rumours that it MIGHT be possible to damage older technolgy hard disks by overseek

Rumors and might be's don't constitute hardware damage. A proven and repeatable instance would. I've never heard of a proven case, only speculation and "what if's".

NoSpam

 

[Gilbert]

I started in computers back in 1968 and there is one aspect in this field that annoys me and it is: scare.

I can remember a few years back when the main general newspapers would run front page stories on "dangerous viruses" such as the Friday the 13th virus. Strange that when the famous date arrived, I don't know of one person who was infected...

Having used personal computers in the past 15 years, I have yet to be infected. I don't say I did not receive some but that I have yet to be infected. At one time, back in DOS days, I was the main shareware supplier for the local PC user group and downloaded loads of sw coming mostly from the Fidonet sw distribution. There was not a single virus in all those files. Many people thought I was a madman in downloading all those files and considered me a daredevil to expose myself to all those highly infectious viruses.

Up to a couple of years ago, I was using OS/2 nearly exclusively and have not encountered a single virus under that platform for about 10 years.

In the past 2 years, under NT4/W2K/XP, I've received, thru email, a number of "Snow White and dwarfs" virus about ten times from strangers and a few I-Klez. Since I don't use MS sw for email, I'm relatively safe from those. I also use good AV sw which is regularly updated.

Having done some support work at one time, I can say the "virus" excuse is a good one for some who want to coverup their own ignorance or stupidity.

While I don't consider myself prone to be infected, I don't say it is impossible that I won't do something foolish in retrospect. That is why I keep my AV sw in defense mode even if it steals some cpu cycles. That loss is nothing compared to realizing your backup is not as recent or complete as what you thought it to be...

--
Gilbert