Archive for the ‘Hoaxes’ Category:
CNN Daily Top 10 Email Spam
A new variation on the Storm worm virus delivery system is going around. (Last month it was the “FBI vs Facebook” email spam.) The new email message is designed to look like a “Daily Top 10″ list of new stories from CNN.com, but the email isn’t from CNN. It’s a fake, also known as a “spoof”.
CNN Daily Top 10 spam
Features of this email message include:
- Links that, if clicked, take you to a site designed to look like a CNN site.
- An “Unsubscribe” link which goes to the true CNN site, but since the message isn’t from CNN, the link will not help you.
The Storm Worm virus threat lurks at the phony CNN site, not in the email message. Those happy computer owners that keep their antivirus up-to-date will be protected against the risk at the web site. The email message itself contains no virus risk.
The better email services such as Yahoo, Hotmail, and Gmail, among others will probably filter these messages out. Otherwise, just delete it.
If you receive either the “FBI vs. Facebook” or the “CNN Daily Top 10″ email messages, just delete them.
Post a comment below if you need to know how to check if your anti virus is up-to-date, and please tell me which anti virus software you use. If you don’t have anti virus software, I recommend Avast by Alwil software, which can be downloaded for free at www.avast.com.
Subscribe to the comments for this postUPS Email Hoax with Virus
UPS has been alerting subscribers to their “Brown Bulletin” service about a fraudulent email that claims to be from UPS. The email claims that a delivery was missed, and that they’ve attached a waybill that you can use to pickup your delivery.
It is safe to receive the email message, but don’t open the attachment. The attachment has a virus. Your up-to-date antivirus will detect and remove it, but delete the message from your Inbox all the same.
You can read more about this alert from UPS on the UPS web site.
Anti-virus Up-to-date?
If you don’t know if your anti-virus is up to date, leave a comment below about which anti-virus you use, and I will tell you how to check if it is up-to-date.
If you don’t have an anti-virus program, I recommend Avast which can be downloaded free, if you only have one computer, at www.avast.com.
You can learn more about email hoaxes and how to spot and stop them at the following locations:
- About Email Hoaxes: How to Spot Them, How to Check Them: This page from Skylark NetWorks discusses the telltale signs of an email hoax. It also has links to virus alert sites from McAfee and Norton (Symantec) where you can get more details regarding particular hoaxes circulating the Internet. There are also links to pages at Snopes.com that address specific hoaxes. (skylarknetworks.com/email-hoaxes.htm)
- Norton’s Threat Explorer
- McAfee Threat Center
- Snopes.com: The Urban Legends Reference page
Please post comments/questions below. Get articles from Skylarking in your Inbox by email or subscribe to our RSS newsfeed. You can also sign up for Skylark NetWorks Newsletter to receive special notices up to 4 times per month.
