Facebook users warned vs 11-year-old virus hoax

Users of Facebook were warned Friday against an 11-year-old virus hoax that has been resurrected and is now making the rounds of the social networking site.

 

In a blog post, security vendor GFI Labs said the old “Windows Live Virus” urged recipients to circulate the "Red Alert for Your Computer" to their friends.

 

"Don’t panic. Raise a skeptical eyebrow. It’s okay," it said.

 

GFI said the “Windows Live Virus” hoax is the latest variant of similar "deceptive notices" dating back to as early as 2001.

 

Such a hoax had already been debunked in site such as Snopes.com, it noted.

 

"As responsible users of social networking and media sites, it is important that we do some fact checks first before we share news, announcements and warnings to those reading our feed," it said.

 

The so-called "Red Alert" advises recipients not to open any message with an attachment called Archive (Windows live), saying it is a virus that burns the entire hard disk.

 

It also warned users against a supposed message "UPDATING WINDOWS LIVE."

 

GFI said following the message's instruction to “Please circulate this notice to your friends, family and contacts!” is "probably the worst thing you could do in this case."

 

"This hoax may spread needlessly within Facebook (and beyond) and cause unnecessary panic to those who deem it as real," it warned. — TJD, GMA News