happily stuck in ithaca header
Thursday, May 09, 2002

A Public Service Announcement Brought To You By Shane's Frustration...

OK people, do me a favor... DON'T forward stuff around without figuring out if its real first. The five minutes you spend to figure out if something is a hoax is worth it. Don't blindly reach for the forward button.

No more stories about kids doing science fair projects and want to know how fast and how far their emails travel around the country (I actually wrote back to this one and my email got RETURNED for a fake address!). No more cry-me-a-river stories about kids on dialysis machines that just want a full inbox for the last few days of their life. And no more stupid virus alerts that pranksters come up with to see how much buzz they can make. And please, no more forwards "just to see if that little video really will pop up" after forwarding the thing to ten friends (I'll tell you right now... IT WON'T!) Or my personal favorite, that free trip to disneyland that you'll get from Microsoft 'cause somehow they can track where your email goes and they'll know who has sent it and who hasn't (THINK about that a second!).

PLEASE, let's all make a point to be responsible email forwarding individuals. That's my two cents...

An example of one I got today... and the corresponding information that one could have found...

THE EMAIL:
>>>>
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!!!

Please pass this mail to all of your friends.

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.
>>>>

THE HOAX:
Looked it up on CNN.com AND McAfee... nothing (of course)
The Sector Zero/Virtual Card For You "Virus" Email Warning Is A Hoax
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Hey! I'm Shane... a proud gay progressive Democrat who has recently relocated to New York City from Ithaca, NY. As I am no longer in Ithaca, I haven't quite decided the fate of this blog.

Drop me a line!
shane@happilystuckinithaca.com

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