Can anyone tell me if this virus alert is valid or not.....

[whistle]

....I just received it by email:

<snip>

Warning READ AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

Get this sent around to your contacts ASAP...we don't need this spread around.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS:

You should be alert during the next days:

Do not open any message with an attached filed called "Invitation" regardless of who sent it, It is a virus that opens an Olympic Torch which "burns" the whole hard disc C of your computer.

This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list, which 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 an email called "invitation", though sent by a friend, do not open it and shut down your computer immediately.

This is the worst virus announced by CNN; it has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever.

McAfee discovered this virus 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.

<end>

[merh]

1. Check this out

http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/olympicvirus.html

I have this website bookmarked, I'm always getting those damned chain emails. :(

:hi:

[sabbat hunter]

2. no it isnt

any time you get an email like that, it is sure to be phony.

[oxymoron]

3. It's a hoax

http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/invitation.asp

[auntAgonist]

4. Hoax: also ...

Do not open any message with an attached file called... "type name of file here" UNLESS you know it came from a reliable source.

aA

[peacetalksforall]

5. Just enter 'virus' and 'invitation' on an internet search line and you can

get a very fast answer.

[ContraBass Black]

6. If you got it by e-mail, it's almost certainly false.

[hootinholler]

7. As always with viri alert email....

They are almost universally false. The glaring technical errors in this one are laughable. CNN announcing viruses? The zero sector?

Get good virus protection. I recommend ESET NOD-32, which detects new potential viri and forwards it for analysis, and complains when it cannot access the update site. I've noticed days where 3 or 4 signature updates occur. I've had trouble in the past with McAfee failing silently.

The latest threat info is always available on the CERT site, either the government's or CMUs site.

-Hoot

[cool user name]

8. It's never a good idea to open attachments ...

... anyway.

Whether the email is true or not. Even attachments from reliable sources could be a worm. I never open any attachments unless I solicite and scan them first. If they come unsolicitied, it's off in the trash bin they go.

[whistle]

9. Thanks everyone

[hvn_nbr_2]

10. Don't open an attached file called anything from anyone if you don't expect it. nt