Olympic Torch Hoax
My Dad recently got the following email (excerpt only).
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. …
While the Invitation virus is a hoax, the message is likely a good one. If you don't know an attachment isn't a virus, then it's better to be safe than sorry.
- Don't send images as attachments, get a Flickr account and send them with Flickr.
- Don't send videos as attachments, get a YouTube account and send them with YouTube.
- If someone sends you images as attachments, then tell them about Flickr.
- If someone send you videos as attachments, then tell them about YouTube.
You are either overly cautious or prone to get viruses.
Once out in the wild hoaxes like this seem impossible to get rid of. I recently had a client ask me about a similar hoax email that he had recently recieved that I first saw at least 5 years ago.
My advice is always the same – if you don’t know the person who sent it, don’t trust it.