"DO NOT OPEN "PRETTY PARK" It is a virus that will erase your whole "C"drive. It will come to you in the form of an E-Mail from a familiar person. I repeat, a friend sent it to me, but called & warned me before I opened it. He was not so lucky and now he cant even start his computer! Forward this to everyone in your address book. I would rather receive this 25 times than not at all."
Dire sounding warnings from friends, families, and even strangers, greet us from our inbox on a regular basis. Despite their better judgement, many forward these on to others "just in case". The situation worsens with hoaxes that combine legitimate virus information with bogus details.
In the example above, the message warns of the wrath of Pretty Park. Though a real virus, correctly spelled PrettyPark, the reality is that PrettyPark does not erase the contents of hard drives and the entire warning is a hoax.
Equally confusing to many is the combination hoax named Upgrade Internet2. This hoax warns of an executable named PERRIN.EXE. According to the hoax, "IT WILL ERASE ALL THe DATA IN YOUR HARD DRIVE AND IT WILL STAY IN MEMORY. EVERY TIME THAT YOU UPLOAD ANY DATA, IT WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY ERASED AND WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE YOUR COMPUTER AGAIN."
Of course, if all data were erased initially, the system would no longer function so how the "virus" is supposed to remain in memory while you upload more data is a mystery. These types of hysterical and technically inaccurate descriptions are the hallmark of most popular hoaxes.
Presumably to lend an air of legitimacy, the authors of the Upgrade Internet2 hoax warn of a long list of attachment names. The allegedly viral attachments identified include: buddylst.exe, calcu18r.exe, deathpr.exe, einstein.exe, happ.exe, girls.exe, happy99.exe, japanese.exe, keypress.exe, kitty.exe, monday.exe, teletubb.exe, The Phantom Menace, prettypark.exe, UP-GRADE INTERNET2, perrin.exe, I love You, CELCOM Screen Saver, CELSAVER.EXE, Win a Holiday (e-mail), JOIN THE CREW, and PENPALS.
To further complicate matters, some of the identified attachments (i.e. prettypark.exe, happy99.exe, and girls.exe) are names of attachments associated with known viruses. Others, such as Win a Holiday (e-mail), JOIN THE CREW, PENPALS, and UP-GRADE INTERNET2 are themselves the names of hoaxes. Again, technically inaccurate details are the hallmark of most popular hoaxes.
The question then becomes, do you forward the warning or ignore it and how can you even determine what action to take? Deciding the action requires identifying whether it's a hoax or not, and this part can be tricky.
While the rule of thumb may be to consider any warning urging its forwarding to "everyone you know" to be a hoax, the fact is at least one noted and credible source has been guilty of this same admonishment. Further, at least one antivirus vendor routinely uses the phrase "Help us defeat viruses, forward this to your friends." The fact is, if it's a real virus threat, reputable vendors and security sources will send out plenty of valid alerts and the media will disseminate information as well. Thus, rather than trying to determine whether it's from a reputable source, (as many purport to come from sources like IBM and Intel), it is best to assume that if it's a real virus, your friend, neighbor, cousin, will get the message through legitimate channels.
At the very least, if in doubt, check it out! To accurately determine whether the email is a hoax, consult the Hoax Encyclopedia. Once you've verified the email is a hoax, put the brakes on it. Send a link to the hoax to the sender so they might benefit from your knowledge. Be prepared for a common response, "I sent it just in case", in which case you can then send them a link to Toxic Excuses.