From time to time, a well-meaning but misinformed individual will send me an "URGENT VIRUS WARNING" regarding the "GOOD TIMES", "Penpal Greetings", or various other e-mail virus hoaxes.

In an attempt to avoid repeatedly composing explanations, I have put together a non-technical canned response, which appears below.

This is a hoax. Network Associates, a leading producer of virus protection software, has compiled a list of known virus hoaxes (available from http://www.mcafee.com/support/hoax.asp).

Ironically, the WARNING is a virus. It is not a computer virus, but a mind virus. It spreads, as do most viruses (biological or informational), by human beings infecting other human beings. As a rule, you should not forward ANY e-mail which requests that recipients forward it. Any such e-mail should be considered a virus (which you will not spread, and to which you will be immune if you follow this advice).

I promote the practice of "safe communication" in general. Before passing on information by any means (verbal, e-mail, etc.), verify its authenticity. If you feel you MUST pass it on without verifying it, at least mention that fact when passing it on. It might sound tedious, but you probably do it often without even thinking about it. Usually it is just a matter of revealing the source from which you obtained the information. For example: "Joe told me ___" or "I read in the paper, ___."

In most cases, it is best to leave the gathering and dissemination of information to the experts on the topic. In the case of computer viruses, end-users do not even need to be aware of the existence of specific viruses. They can simply run up-to-date anti-virus software. Consider the alternative: According to Network Associates, over 300 new viruses appear each month. Imagine if you had to personally be aware of each one, or a well-meaning individual e-mailed you a warning for each one. That's more than 10 warnings every day!

Yahoo! maintains a list of anti-virus software packages.