Faculty of Education
Queen's UniversityViruses and Hoaxes
Are you concerned about getting a virus on your computer? Certainly, everyone should take appropriate precautions against known viruses. There is lots of information available about how to protect yourself from a majority of known problems, and how to do that is a topic covered elsewhere. What is not so easy to tell, is whether a reported "virus" is actually something that you need to be concerned about, or if it is just a hoax.
To help you with this, there are several reliable web sites that publish up-to-date information on known viruses and hoaxes. Please visit any or all of these sites if you get information about a potential virus and you're not sure whether it is something to be concerned about.
- A comprehensive list of viruses that do not exist
- Queen's Virus alerts
- MacafeeVirus Hoaxes — describes a number of known hoaxes
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Symantec Viruses and Risks