A brief question for the techies in the crowd..

[phoenix]

Archer & Malkboy, and anyone else who's heard of this, this email has been making the circuits among my friends. I've been telling them what I've heard, that it's a dangerous hoax that will irreparably damage your system files if you follow the instructions, and that it's impossible to get a virus from email without downloading attachments, but I thought I'd ask for confirmation before continuing to tell people that.

Here's the email:

Bad news. I have just been notified by someone who has me in their

address

book that they received a virus that automatically is passed through

email

address books.  I found it on my hard drive(s) and deleted it.  Since

you are in my address book, you will probably find it in your computer

too.

The virus is called (jdbgmgr.exe) and is not detected by Norton or

McAfee. 

The

virus sits quietly for 14 days before damaging the system.  It is sent

automatically by messenger and by address book, whether or not you sent

e-mail to your contacts.  Here is how to check for the virus and how to

get

rid of it.  It is easy to do.

Go to Start, then click your Find or Search option.

In the folder options, type the name jdbgmgr

Be sure to search your C drive and all the s up folders and any other

drives

you may have.

Click Find Now.

The virus has a teddy bear icon with the name jdbgmgr.exe DO NOT OPEN

IT!!!!!!

Go to edit (on the menu bar) and choose Select All to highlight the

file

without opening it.

Now go to File (on the menu bar) and select delete.  It will go to the

recycle bin.

Then empty the recycle bin.

If you find the virus, you must contact all the people in your address

book

so that they may eradicate the virus from their own address books. To

do

this:

Open a new email message

Click the icon address book next to TO

Highlight every name and add to BCC

Copy this message and paste it and send it

[ezekiel]

I actually got that email in French a couple weeks ago...

Here's my suggestion (and it's what I answered to those who sent it to me) When you get a virus warning use Google. You'll immeditaley learn the truth about the "virus". Here's the Symantec link. That file is just a part of a debugger so the email isn't exactly a "dangerous" hoax but a hoax nonetheless.

99.9% of all forwarded chain mail letters are crap.

[brilyn]

and that it's impossible to get a virus from email without downloading attachments

This isn't strictly true (go read about something called Melissa. It did some serious damage a couple years back), but it's true for 99% of all viruii out there.

And yes, that mail you got is a hoax.

[madcat82]

Phoenix, try switching to Linux...

From what I know, there is only two viruses that works on linux and they should be pritty much fixed in the latest versions.

[malkboy]

wow yea.. if I'd seen that sooner I too would be saying.. hoax.. hoax..