On Halloween night 1938, Orson Wells and the Mercury Theater broadcast a dramatization of H. G. Wells' famous tale "War of the Worlds." Thousands of listeners believed the program to be a real Martian invasion of the Earth. While the radio station claimed that no deception was intended, the whole event became known as one of America's greatest hoaxes. The "War of the Worlds" scenario explains a lot about the psychology of the masses. It is also a great example of how human emotions enhance our willingness to believe.
Is it true or is it a hoax? This is a question that Internet users must constantly ask themselves as e-mail boxes fill up with virus warnings, chain letters, and petitions of all types.
Note: For those of you who would like to experience the event, the complete audio of "War of the Worlds" can be found at http://www.earthstation1.com/wotw.html.
Chain letters
I can remember getting a chain letter when I was about twelve years old. It said that if I didn't send the letter to ten other people, bad luck would plague me for the rest of my life. After contemplating the possibilities, I was tempted to forward the letter, but decided to trash it instead. For the next six months or so, every time something bad happened, I wondered if it was the result of not passing on that letter. Having enjoyed a happy and meaningful life in spite of that threat, I later decided that the letter really had no power.
Well, some things never change. In the past few months, I have received e-mail urging me to contact everyone I know to help a little dying girl, another to wrangle $5 from each person I send the letter to, and, my own perennial favorite, the one that states Bill Gates will send me money and a free copy of Windows 98 if I circulate the letter.
Who believes these things anyway? Well, there is evidence that many people proliferate these letters. Recently, thousands of computer users around the world have been fooled by two e-mail chain letters promising free Ericsson and Nokia mobile phones. Even people who understand that these e-mails are not valid sometimes circulate them in hopes of receiving a free phone or other prize. Although there are no free phones, both Nokia and Ericsson have been inundated with inquiries about this bogus chain letter.
Chain letters are almost always a sham. However, if you want to check out their legitimacy, a resource is available. Visit the Internet chain letters section of the CIAC, Computer Incident Advisory Capability.
Virus Hoaxes
Have you heard about the computer A.I.D.S. VIRUS? It supposedly destroys your memory, sound card, speakers, and drive and also infects your mouse or pointing device as well as your keyboard. Don't worry. It's a hoax.
If you receive a circulating e-mail stating, How to Give a Cat a Colonic. DO NOT open it. It will erase everything on your hard drive. Forward this letter out to as many people as you can. Don't worry. It's just another hoax.
Here's another: Top News Story -- Pandemic Computer Virus Discovered -- Yesterday, the anti-virus programming group at Symantec, the Cupertino, California-based maker of the Norton brand of anti-virus software, announced the discovery of a unique computer virus which, though extremely widespread, has managed to elude detection for more than three years. Don't worry. It's a hoax.
Identifying Hoaxes
But how do you know whether an e-mail is real or a hoax? First you should realize that most hoaxes sound real. They use technical sounding language like the Pandemic Virus that was just mentioned. They use credible references like the Symantec anti-virus programming group. No matter how realistic sounding, you will want to check them out. The Computer Incident Advisory Capability (CIAC) has an excellent Web site that lists e-mail hoaxes. In fact, even if you haven't been "hoaxed" lately, it's interesting to visit CIAC just to see how many hoaxes are circulating on the Internet.
Avoiding Hoaxes
E-mail from an unknown source should be trashed immediately. If, however, e-mail comes from someone you know and trust, you may still want to check it out. Several Internet sites give lists of the current hoaxes. Symantec's AntiVirus Research Center is an excellent resource. McAfee.com also offers a wealth of hoax information.
Feel free to contact your Internet Service Provider about any Internet hoaxes or chain letters that you receive. ISPs have a vested interest in keeping computers free from unnecessary junk e-mail. They may be able to work with other Internet groups to find the originator of the e-mail and stop him or her from spreading more of this kind of nuisance.
You may also want to respond to the e-mail hoax by contacting the sender. Ask them not to send you any more e-mail of this type. While this may not necessarily do any good, it might make you feel better.
Hoaxes Turned Real
A hoax is a hoax is a hoax. Until it turns into a real threat. Virus creators have been known to take advantage of hoaxes. A good example is an old Internet hoax called AOL4FREE. This was a widely-circulated hoax about a non-existent virus. Then someone wrote a real virus and attached it to the AOL4FREE virus hoax letter. So what was previously a hoax now became a real danger. The lesson is clear. Don't open any e-mail attachments; click on the Trash icon whenever you suspect anything.
Jokes
Have you heard the one about ... ? Well-meaning folks share e-mail jokes with me all the time. Most of them are harmless, and sometimes they really are funny. A type of currently popular joke is what I call the Internet prank. You get an e-mail from someone you know. When you open the attachment, the words on your computer screen melt before your eyes or all your data seems to be destroyed. The joke usually ends with a message something like "Ha, Ha, Ha. I scared you, didn't I?" This type of joke pretends to be a virus, but is really harmless. That is unless you have a panic attack as you watch all of your data disappear.
Media Over-Hype
Even the media is sometimes fooled by an Internet hoax or a virus scare. A few years ago the media predicted a virus called Michelangelo that was scheduled to strike on March 6, the artist's birthday. Even though experts accurately predicted Michelangelo's impact, the media exaggerated the story forecasting that the virus would strike five million computers. On March 7, the actual number of computers affected was only between 10,000 and 20,000.
An Ounce of Prevention
Although most of us share the human attribute of curiosity and the desire to believe what we see, let's train ourselves to be wise. Develop a habit of scrutinizing your e-mail sources. If you are unfamiliar with the sender, DO NOT OPEN that particular e-mail. Even if you are familiar with the sender but the subject sounds unusual, use Internet resources to check out the validity of chain letters, viruses, and hoaxes. You will be glad you did for your computer wants no part of the Bud Frogs, Pool Party, Join the Crew, AOL4FREE, or any of their buddies.
