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'Merry Christmas' Virus Warning

Netlore Archive: 2007 'Merry Christmas' virus alert is a hoax.

Description: Virus hoax
Circulating since: Nov. 2007
Status: False


Email example contributed by I. Baldwin, 4 December 2007:

PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING:

You should be alert during the next days:

Do not open any message with an attached file called 'Merry Christmas' regardless of who sent it, It is a virus that opens as an Open Log Fire and will burn the whole hard disc in your computer.

This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list, that is why you should send this e-mail to all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it.

If you receive a mail called 'Merry Christmas', though sent by a friend, do not open it and shut down your computer immediately. This is the worst virus announced, it has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever.

This virus was discovered yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept.


Comments: Hoax. The "Merry Christmas" virus threat described above does not exist. The text is almost identical to two previous hoax warnings, "A Virtual Card for You" and "Invitation." The hoax has circulated under other names as well.

The bogus "Merry Christmas" virus alert of 2007 should not be confused with warnings circulated in 2005 about an actual virus, Zafi.D, which circulated as an attachment to messages purporting to notify recipients of an electonic greeting card sent to them, bearing subject headers such as "Merry Christmas," "Joyeux Noel," and "Feliz Navidad."

Please note that though a great many of the virus warnings passed around on the Internet are bogus, there exist thousands of actual computer viruses and Internet worms that constitute a real security threat to personal computers and networks worldwide. Your best protection against them is to maintain regularly updated antivirus software on your computer.


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Sources and further reading:

Virus Profile: A Virtual Card for You Hoax
McAfee hoax advisory

Antivirus Software
Resources and expert advice from About.com Guide Mary Landesman


Last updated: 12/08/07


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