Bits'n'Bytes

As heard on CJCD

Episode 18

Today, I'd like to talk about a different kind of virus. This one doesn't really damage your computer, but it does waste your valuable time and, when it's sent out by thousands of unknowing people, can use up a fair bit of internet bandwidth, too. This different virus, usually sent by people with good intentions, is the "virus warning" or the "pass this on" email virus.

Quite often, being the computer guy, I get sent emails from friends and family giving me a heads up about a new and nasty virus. Now, no offence, but I usually know about the really nasty ones long before you. And rarely is there a virus out there with "no known cure". So most of these virus warnings are just junk mail sent out originally by someone with nothing better to do than to see if they can scare the bejeebers out of people like you and at the same time get you to scare all your friends.

Another email I get quite often is the "pass this on" email. You know the type: "Hi, My name is Mary. I'm in grade six and I'm doing a school project about tracking emails. Please add your name to the list and pass it on." Mary must be quite talented if she can track that email. Especially when it tells you to copy and paste the message into a new email - Don't Forward! This effectively eliminates all traces of the previous senders. Hmmm…

If you're ever not sure about an email message or warning, do yourself a favour and go to the Symantec website at www.symantec.com. Click on the Viruses and Risks link and do a search on the supposed virus. If it really is one, they'll know - and if it's a hoax, they'll tell you that too.

Just a couple of interesting points for you all to remember before I go: one, there is no such thing as a sector zero on a computer, and two, Microsoft will never pay you or donate money to the sick if you forward those emails.

Stay tuned next week for some tips on keeping your computer hardware clean.

I’m Computer Dave, thanks for your time.