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Don't panic over Virtual Card virus alert

Experts confirm that Virtual Card doesn't exist. Users should not forward the hoax warning
Written by Graeme Wearden, Contributor

Computer users who receive an email warning of a "Virtual Card" virus should ignore it, as antivirus experts are confident it is a hoax.

The email, which has the subject line "Important -- Please read this warning about a Destructive Virus" first appeared late last year. It says that users should watch out for an email-propagated virus entitled "A Virtual Card for You", which it claims will wipe vital information from a hard drive.

Some ZDNet readers have reported receiving this warning this week, but antivirus experts emphasise that the virus does not exist. "This email message is just a hoax, and we has not received any report of a user's hard drive being erased for opening the email," explains antivirus company McAfee.

McAfee encourages users not to pass on the warning to friends and colleagues. "We are advising users who receive the email to delete it and do not pass it on as this is how an email hoax propagates," the company adds.

Take me to the Virus Workshop

The discovery that yet another flaw exists in Microsoft's Internet Explorer, and that Microsoft has had to issue a patch for it, shouldn't be a surprising one. Guy Kewney says -- there's no such thing as a perfect program. Go to AnchorDesk UK for the news comment.

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