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The Web in Focus What to do? What can you do? If you get an email like ones I've described, just delete it. If you feel you must do something, check one of the web sites below to see if it is a known hoax. Make sure the letter is the real thing before you email it on to your friends. (If it is one of those good-luck chain letters, don't EVER mail it!!) You may also want to take a few moments to visit some of these hoax-buster sites to see all the different kinds of nonsense that is out there. It is truly amazing and a lot of it is actually a good laugh, too. About.com has an entire Urban Legends and Folklore section. All kinds of hoaxes -- more than you thought possible. The Urban Legends and Folklore section at About.com also has great pointers for how to identify a hoax: How to Spot an Email Hoax A quick list of virus hoaxes and chain mail silliness is at Nerd Herd. Another good list and description of hoaxes is from the University of Michigan's Virus Busters. A good compendium off all kinds of hoaxes can be found at the Urban Legends Reference Pages. I like their "Currently Circulating" and their "Inboxer Rebellion" sections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Infectious Diseases page. Visit this page to find out about false disease reports. A compendium of all kinds of chain letters that have been circulating the Internet for YEARS (including the old Nieman-Marcus cookie recipe -- I think I got that one back in eighties or early nineties!): Email Forwards. Vmyths.com: A comprehensive list of virus and other hoaxes. Tips on identifying a hoax. Current hoaxes and virus myths. Information on real viruses. Genuine viruses are normally described on the web sites of companies with anti-virus software. A couple of places to go to see if a hoax is a real virus are Symantec and Computer Associate's Virus Info. Another organization, The WildList Organization International, has an extensive list of viruses that are "in the wild" (that is, lurking out there, ready to infect your computer). Often viruses that come in through our email, like ones that are masquerading as resumes, require the user to open the email attachment. Simple remedies: 1. Scan all incoming attachments for viruses before you open them. 2. Don't open attachments from unknown sources. 3. Ask friends and family who send you attachments what they are before you open them. Speaking of laughs, one of the emails that made the rounds in the fall of '99 is a letter that is supposedly from a poor boy with no body -- he just has a burlap sack filled with leaves instead of a body. This one doesn't really qualify as a hoax but rather as a spoof of all the poor, sick children email hoaxes. I think it's hilarious. If you want to read it, check out the Burlap Sack page at the Urban Legends Reference Pages. While you are surfing out there or reading your emails, be sure to keep your healthy scepticism with you -- and a pound of salt! Written May 28, 2000

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