The WIN A HOLIDAY "Virus" Email Warning Is A Hoax

Last significant update: 23 February 1998

This information can be freely reproduced in any medium, as long as the information is unmodified.

The WIN A HOLIDAY hoax uses the text of the JOIN THE CREW hoax, with only minor modifications. Pathetic. So far, we've only seen it "bundled" with the "Return or Unable to Deliver" hoax; the first report we received was on 20 February 1998. Here's the text:

Virus warning

If you receive an email titled "WIN A HOLIDAY" DO NOT open it.
It will erase everything on your hard drive. Forward this letter out
to as many people as you can. This is a new, very malicious virus and
not many people know about it. This information was announced
yesterday morning from Microsoft; please share it with everyone that
might access the Internet.  Once again, pass this along to EVERYONE in
our address book so that this may be stopped.

Instead, you should reply to the sender -- and as far back up the email chain as you have energy -- informing the originators that this is a hoax. For this particular hoax, I suggest that you provide a pointer to this URL (http://www.umich.edu/~virus-busters/hoaxes/holiday.html)
For virus or hoax info, please see our main page (http://www.umich.edu/~virus-busters/) or go to another reputable site, like DataFellows (leaving our site).

   -BPB

visits to this page since 23 February, 1998 03:50 EDT