List of Computer Virus Hoaxes
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| Name | Alias(es) | Origin | Author | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antichrist | (none) | Monmouth(uk) | Dylan Nicholas | This is a hoax that warned about a supposed virus discovered by Microsoft and McAfee named "Antichrist", telling the user that it is installed via an e-mail with the subject line: "SURPRISE?!!!!!!!!!!" after which it destroys the zeroth sector of the hard disk, rendering it unusable. |
| Budweiser Frogs | BUDSAVER.EXE | Unknown | Unknown | Supposedly would erase the user's hard drive and steal the user's screen name and password. |
| Goodtimes virus | (none) | Unknown | Unknown | Warnings about a computer virus named "Good Times" began being passed around among Internet users in 1994. The Goodtimes virus was supposedly transmitted via an email bearing the subject header "Good Times" or "Goodtimes," hence the virus's name, and the warning recommended deleting any such email unread. The virus described in the warnings did not exist, but the warnings themselves, were, in effect, virus-like. |
| Invitation attachment (computer virus hoax) | (Allright now/I'm just sayin) | Michiana Shores, Long Beach, Jamestown Manor, Michigan City (IN), Schaumburg (IL) | Jim Flanagan | The invitation virus hoax involved an e-mail spam in 2006 that advised computer users to delete an email, with any type of attachment that stated "invitation" because it was a computer virus. This is also known as the Olympic Torch virus hoax (see below). |
| Jdbgmgr.exe | (bear.a) | Unknown | Unknown | The jdbgmgr.exe virus hoax involved an e-mail spam in 2002 that advised computer users to delete a file named jdbgmgr.exe because it was a computer virus. jdbgmgr.exe, which had a little teddy bear-like icon (The Microsoft Bear), was actually a valid Microsoft Windows file, the Debugger Registrar for Java (also known as Java Debug Manager, hence jdbgmgr). |
| Life is beautiful | Life is wonderful | Unknown | Supposedly, a hacker with the alias "Life owner" or "Dono da vida" | The hoax was spread through the Internet around January 2001 in Brazil. It was a virus attached to an e-mail, which was spread around the Internet. The attached file was supposedly called "Life is beautiful.pps" or "La vita è bella.pps". |
| NVISION DESIGN, INC. games ("Frogapult," "Elfbowl") | Sometimes included their other game "Y2KGame" | Unknown | Unknown | Programs were actual, legitimate computer games; author claimed that they were viruses which would "wipe out" the user's hard drive on Christmas Day. |
| Olympic Torch | Postcard or Postcard from Hallmark | Unknown | Unknown | Olympic Torch is a computer virus hoax sent out by e-mail. The hoax e-mails first appeared in February 2006. The "virus" referred to by the e-mail does not actually exist. The hoax e-mail warns recipients of a recent outbreak of "Olympic Torch" viruses, contained in e-mails titled "Invitation", which erase the hard disk of the user's computer when opened. The hoax email further purports the virus to be acknowledged by such reputable sources as CNN, McAfee and Microsoft as one of the most dangerous viruses yet reported.
Of course this email, which was started in February 2006, is safe to delete when you want. |
| SULFNBK.EXE Warning | none | Unknown | Unknown | SULFNBK.EXE (short for Setup Utility for Long File Name Backup) is an internal component of the Microsoft Windows operating system (in Windows 98 and Windows Me) for restoring long file names. The component became famous in the early 2000s as the subject of an e-mail hoax. The hoax claimed that SULFNBK.EXE was a virus, and contained instructions to locate and delete the file. While the instructions worked, they were needless and (in some rare cases, for example, when the long file names are damaged and need to be restored) can cause disruptions, as SULFNBK.EXE is not a virus, but instead an operating system component. |
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