There are several web sites available where you can check out the validity of a reported virus.  It is recommended that if you do not find any info on the virus or hoax at one of these sites to try it in another, as some of these virus libraries may be more up-to-date on a particular virus or hoax.  If you are unable to find any info on a particular virus or hoax, contact Valley TechNologies - we'll try to locate info on it for you.

Just click on the links below to view the info available at these web sites:

McAfee Virus Information Center:
        http://vil.mcafee.com/hoax.asp?

Symantec Anti-virus Research Center (SARC):  
        http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/vinfodb.html

Sophos Virus Info:   
        http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/

DataFellows
        http://www.europe.datafellows.com/v-descs/

 

What about hoaxes and "chain letters" that are not necessarily "viruses"?

Interspersed among the junk mail and spam that fills our Internet e-mail boxes are dire warnings about devastating new viruses, Trojans that eat the heart out of your system, and malicious software that can steal the computer right off your desk.   Added to that are messages about free money, children in trouble, and other items designed to grab you and get you to forward the message to everyone you know.  Most all of these messages are hoaxes or chain letters.  While  hoaxes do not automatically infect systems like a virus or Trojan, they are still time consuming and costly to remove from all the systems where they exist.

Check the following web site developed by the U.S. Department of Energy and its CIAC (Computer Incident Advisory Capability).  It should help you sort through and validate many of the questionable e-mails you may receive.

http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/

http://hoaxinfo.com

Another way to find out about hoaxes is through about.com. Simply cut & paste a key word from the email into the search box and you should be able to locate information of it's validity.

http://www.about.com

More About Hoaxes

Virus Hoaxes: Not Just Harmless Pranks
There are a lot of viruses out there. And then there are some viruses that aren't really out there at all. Hoax virus warning messages are more than mere annoyances. After repeatedly becoming alarmed, only to learn that there was no real virus, computer users may get into the habit of ignoring all virus warning messages, leaving them especially vulnerable to the next real, and truly destructive, virus.

Fortunately, several sites, including those listed above, track virus hoaxes as well as genuine viruses.  The next time you receive an urgent virus warning message, check it against the list of known virus hoaxes from one of the sites above.  If it's a hoax, chances are you'll find it in their databases.  And if it's a real virus, they'll probably know about it already, and you'll find that out from those sites as well

Don't let your guard down!
Remember: Never open an email attachment unless you know what it is--even if it comes from someone you know and trust.

Be aware that the people who create viruses can use known hoaxes to their advantage. A good example is the AOL4FREE hoax. This began as a hoax warning about a nonexistent virus. Once it was known that this was a hoax, somebody began to distribute a destructive trojan horse (a trojan horse differs from a virus in that it does not reproduce itself) in a file named AOL4FREE, attached to the original hoax virus warning! The lessons are clear:

• Always remain vigilant
• Never open a suspicious attachment