Description
This virus hoax is a variant of the Virtual Card for You hoax that has been spreading across the internet for some years. Although malware has been distributed disguised as postcards and ecards in the past, the claims that the malicious code can "destroy sector zero" of the hard drive or 'burns' the hard disk are false.
The text of the hoax reads as follows:
PLEASE SEND THIS TO EVERYONE ON YOUR CONTACT LIST!!
A new virus has just been discovered that has been classified by Microsoft
as the most destructive ever. This virus was discovered yesterday
afternoon by McAfee . This virus simply destroys Sector Zero from the hard
disk, where vital info rmation for its functioning are stored.
This virus acts in the following manner: It sends itself automatically to
all contacts on your list with the title:
'You've received a Post Card from a Family member'.
As soon as the supposed virtual card is opened the computer freezes so
that the user has to reboot. When the ctrl+alt+del keys or the reset
button are pressed, the virus destroys Sector Zero, thus permanently
destroying the hard disk. Yesterday in just a few hours this virus caused
panic in New York, according to news broadcast by CNN.
This alert was received by an employee of Microsoft itself.
So don't open any mails with subject: 'A Post Card from'.
As soon as you get the mail, delete it!! Even if you know the sender!!!
Please pass this mail to all of your friends.
Forward this to everyone in your address book. I'm sure most people, like
myself, would rather receive this notice 25 times than not at All
Another version of the hoax reads as follows:
FW: Read about this virus
Don't know if this is true but better to be on the safe side.
I checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this
virus!
I checked snopes.com, and it is for real!!
Get this E-mail message sent around to your contacts ASAP.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS!
You should be alert during the next few days. Do not open any message
with an attachment entitled "POSTCARD," regardless of who sent it to
you. It is a virus which opens A POSTCARD IMAGE, 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. This is
the reason why you need to 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 a mail called" POSTCARD," even though sent to you by a
friend, do not open it.!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. This virus was
discovered by McAfee 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.