Computer viruses have caused countless problems for people all over the world. Some steal personal information from your computer; others can destroy your files. Not only can computer viruses be a small annoyance, but they can cost millions in lost time and even actual money. While most people think virus hoaxes are a nuisance byproduct of this technological age, they can actually cause real damage as well.

Most virus hoaxes are perpetuated via emails. Most people donít bother to check the validity of a virus warning and so they forward to friends and colleagues with abandon. This can quickly lead to millions of virus hoax emails circulating the world wide web in no time, filling inboxes and overloading servers and routers, sometimes even to the point of crashing.

Many PC virus hoaxes can cause real damage to your computer. How is this possible? Virus hoaxes often tell you to go into your computer and find a certain file, and then delete it, implying the said file is actually the virus. Unfortunately, if this is a virus hoax this could actually be an important file that your computer’s operating system requires. You may find that after deleting the file your computer has serious issues once rebooted.

How to Combat Virus Hoaxes

Recognizing virus hoaxes can be difficult, especially if you don’t know much technical information about your PC. Excessive technical jargon is one tip off that an email may be a virus hoax. You should also be wary of emails that refer to an actual organization such as the FCC.

The best thing to do is to look up reputable anti-virus software online and check out their website. They have listings of all current virus hoaxes and whether or not you need to do anything. If you have received a virus hoax that you have verified reply to whoever sent it before they delete vital files on their own PC.
[tag]antivirus,internet security,malware[/tag]

Filed under: Internet Security

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