Probably the first thing you should notice about a warning is the request to
"send this to everyone you know" or some variant of that statement. This should raise a red flag
that the warning is probably a hoax. No real warning message from a credible source will tell you
to send this to everyone you know.
Even with technical sounding language and credibility by association, warnings like this
are most likely hoaxes.
The first thing to do is check a reliable virus site for more information.
One such site is
Hoaxbusters which is maintained by the U.S. Department of Energy's
Computer Incident Advisory Capacity (CIAC).
There, you can search for the alleged virus name or other keywords contained in the warning.
Another good rule of thumb is to not open or run any files that are attached to emails from
unknown sources. If you don't recognize the email address of the sender, delete it! If it's
something legitimate, it will probably get sent to you again anyway.
Some other sources of virus and hoax information are:
VMyths.com Virus Hoaxes.
Snopes.com an urban legend and hoax reference site.
Symantec's Security Response A site with information about REAL viruses.
Finally, one of the best investments you can make is the purchase of a good virus scanner.
Be sure to download updates from the manufacturer and scan your hard drive(s) frequently.
And of course, backing up your data files is critical should your computer actually become
infected.
As they used to say on Hill Street Blues, "Let's be careful out there."
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