Help

The text of this virus hoax reads as follows:

A virus will be spreading in 48 hours from now!!!! PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL:
This message arrived today, Microsoft just announced it.
The information said: If you receive an e-mail with the subject Help, don't open it, don't even move your mouse over it or clean it because with only that action a virus will be activated without the necessity to download any file, it is a cyber-terrorism!! Wait 48 hours after you receive the virus in order to clean it, otherwise it will erase your hard disk and BIOS. This action doesn't have a cure because the computer startup system is affected and you are not to be able to get in the operating system.
Note: It can arrive with an unknown name or with one of your contacts' name.
VERY URGENT, PASS THIS TO EVERY PERSON WHO HAS YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS!!!!

Many virus hoaxes:

• falsely claim to describe an extremely dangerous virus
• use pseudo-technical language to make impressive-sounding (but impossible) claims
• falsely claim that the report was issued or confirmed by a well-known company
• ask you to forward it to all your friends and colleagues

As usual, you are urged not to pass on warnings of this kind, as the continued re-forwarding of these hoaxes simply wastes time and email bandwidth.

It is possible that you may receive a hoax via email with a file attached. Obviously, such file attachments should be treated with caution as they may be virus infected. Sophos recommends deleting virus hoax emails, whether they contain file attachments or not.

Sophos suggests a policy to help prevent hoaxes from spreading in your company.