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Urban Legends, Virus Hoaxes, and Real Viruses

Don't believe everything you read and hear! Check these sites if you suspect you've received a chain letter, an urban legend (an "untrue" document) or a virus hoax. Find the truth! You may have a real virus. That brings us to our disclaimer, which says that we, of course, cannot vouch for any of these links and disavow any responsibility for what they may or may not tell you.

NOTE - This page contains elements which are out of date. We will fix that condition soon.

Urban Legends

Urban Legends A juicy story or an urban legend appears in your email and strains your credibility. But, for some reason, you want to believe it too, just like those supermarket tabloids. Didn't your mother teach you not to accept candy from a stranger? An urban legend contains elements of humor and/or horror. It makes good storytelling, and it does not have to be false, although most are. ULs often have a basis in fact, but it's their life after-the-fact that's the fun part. Check to see if your juicy story, ...uh, urban legend made this list.

Reference Pages The San Fernando Valley Folklore Society Urban Legends Reference Pages
Chain Letters From the DOE: Chain Letter: "A letter directing the recipient to send out multiple copies so that its circulation increases in a geometric progression as long as the instructions are carried out." Webster's II, New Riverside University Dictionary, 1984. We knew that!

Real Virus Warnings

Symantec (Norton) AntiVirus Center Symantec Research Center
F-Secure Computer Virus Info Center This site was the first anti-virus web site ever - and they say they are the industry standard source for up-to-date information on new viruses and hoax alerts
AVP Virus Encyclopedia The AntiViral Toolkit Pro Virus Encyclopedia
McAfee Antivirus Center They claim they are the largest online security service.
Joe Well's WildList Index Joe Wells has, for a few years now, been collecting virus reports from anti-virus experts around the world. He combines these to produce the WildList, a list of those viruses currently in the wild.
Other Virus Information Dr. Solomon's Virus Central
Stiller Research Virus Information
Virus Bulletin Home Page
NIST Virus Information Page
Sophos Virus Information Page
Trend Virus Encyclopedia

Virus Hoaxes

Computer Virus Myths Learn about computer virus myths, hoaxes, urban legends, and the implications if you believe in them.
F-Secure Hoax Warnings. Industry standard location. Hoax warnings are typically scare alerts started by malicious people - and passed on by innocent users who think they are helping the community by spreading the warning.
How to Identify a Hoax There are several methods to identify virus hoaxes, but first consider what makes a successful hoax on the Internet.
CIAC Internet Hoaxes Identifies a number of hoaxes. This staff spends more time debunking hoaxes than it does handling real virus incidents.
Symantec Virus Hoaxes Although there are thousands of viruses discovered each year, there are still some that only exist in the imaginations of the public and the press. This is the comprehensive list of viruses that DO NOT EXIST, despite rumor of their creation and distribution.


 


Last Updated on October 21, 2006 - However, data above is out of date - it will have to be updated and we will do that soon.

 

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