Internet Safety: Other Internet Threats

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Phishing
3. Identity Theft
4. Hoaxes
   1. Virus Hoaxes
   2. Hoax Activity
   3. Hoax Quiz
5. Ransomware
6. Hackers
7. Cyberbullying
8. Internet Grooming

Virus Hoaxes

A very common hoax is the virus hoax. This usually starts with an important e-mail message warning people about a new and particularly dangerous virus. It ends by asking the user to warn their friends and colleagues by forwarding the original message to everyone in their address book.

The usual result, if the hoax is successful, is that the e-mail can be forwarded to millions of users and could increase to the extent that mail servers are overloaded. If you receive an e-mail warning you about a new virus, you should always check whether or not it is a hoax before taking any action or forwarding it to friends.

You can find additional information about virus hoaxes at the following sites:

http://www.symantec.com/enterprise/security_response/threatexplorer/risks/hoaxes.jsp

http://vil.mcafee.com/hoax.asp

Next: Hoax Activity