The Olympic Torch Virus Hoax is back in circulation in
a big way. This time it's seen doing rounds predominantly among Orkut Online Community
members, informs Security Analysts at MicroWorld Technologies.
The hoax
mail that appeared for the first time in the second week of February 2006, says
you should never open an email with an attachment named "Invitation",
regardless who sends it to you. Like a typical scare monger it screams that the
Virus will burn the whole hard disk of your PC! In the pretext of educating you
about its spreading routine, the hoax goes onto explaining how the entries in
the address book of a victim are stolen and how the Virus starts mass mailing
to those email addresses.
To lend some fabricated credibility to the
hoax, the email quotes CNN, Microsoft and Security firms. The message ends with
a strong plea to forward it to as many people as possible so that the humanity
shall save their computer hard disks from massive destruction!
"The psychology behind hoax mails is an intriguing subject to delve
into. For many, it's just the curiosity to see how fast and far these false mails
travel, while they derive some sadistic pleasure watching its geometrical progression.
Some other chain mails are fraudulent, money-making tricks in the form of Ponzi
Schemes and Multi-Level Marketing, where they just act as invitations to bigger
troubles. And then there are absolutely malicious ones spreading false and harmful
information among their recipients as well," analyzes Sulabh Mahant, Security
Expert at MicroWorld Technologies.
There is a real, tangible cost to
hoax mails. It will dent your Collective Productivity, occupy large Server spaces,
choke bandwidth, clog mailboxes with unwanted stuff and spread totally misleading
information in business communities. In year 2001, a false alarm was raised by
a hoax mail saying that a Windows Utility file named 'sulfnbk.exe' with a funny
looking icon, was a Virus and got countless victims to delete that useful OS component
from their computers. If you see, the harm it did was no less than a Virus!
"Regular technologies used in Spam fighting like Real-time Black List,
Reverse DNS or Gray Listing, will fall flat in front of hoax mails as here the
sender is someone you know. Your spam fighting system should be smart enough to
learn and apply an acquired Intelligence to spot and stop these mails from entering
mail boxes. That's where our unique and patent pending technology called Non-Intrusive
learning Patterns (NILP) succeeds in filtering Mail Traffic using a combination
of Self-learning Capability and continuously updated, research based feeds from
MicroWorld Server," points out Govind Rammurthy, CEO, MicroWorld Technologies.
MicroWorld
MicroWorld (www.mwti.net
) is the developer of the world's first Real-Time Anti-Virus and Content Security
software eScan
for desktops and servers. Its communication security software,
MailScan is the first comprehensive e-mail scanner for your SMTP/POP3
Mail Server. MicroWorld
Winsock Layer (MWL) is the revolutionary technology underlying these products,
powering them to several certifications and awards by some of the most prestigious
testing bodies, notable among them being Virus Bulletin, Checkmark, TUCOWS, Red
Hat Ready, and Novell Ready. Combining their powerful scanner with MWL technology,
MicroWorld solutions provide a Real-Time Proactive security for your systems.
For network security of enterprises, eConceal Firewall is the latest powerful
offering from MicroWorld.
To learn more, kindly visit http://www.mwti.net
